Parliamentary Debate
A collaboration between Newcastle University and the National Civil War Centre
About the project
This archives-inspired oracy project, funded by The National Archives, took its inspiration from material relating to the British Civil Wars in Newcastle University’s Special Collections and Archives and the National Civil War Centre’s collections.
During the project, teachers took part in debate training led by oracy charity Voice-21 and worked with heritage professionals and academics to plan archives-inspired activities to develop their students’ oracy skills. A-level students from schools in Northumberland and Nottinghamshire then visited Newcastle University and the National Civil War Centre where they worked with primary source material related to their A-level studies and took part in an inter-school debate.
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It’s [...] been great having so much teacher involvement in the planning of the project so that it’s tailored specifically to our students and their needs.
Students simply don't have the access to this sort of material in schools. It feels like 'real' history and is incredibly rewarding.
Both me and my students have learned huge amounts and we are keen on creating a legacy of the project in school through debating clubs…