Recently we have had the chance to help out at a few schools events, demonstrating our medieval arms and armour to several assemblies of very interested school kids. Many in Key Stage 1 and 2 (5-7 years old) are covering “Knights and Castles” in this year’s curriculum so it has been the perfect opportunity to show kids what a knight would have really looked like, in the flesh (well, metal!). I have visited Great Sampford Primary School and Chelmondiston Primary School in recent weeks and it was great to see the enthusiasm from the children (and teachers!) at both schools. Some questions from the Chelmondiston kids are included in the photo below – I was fortunate enough to have these sent to me ahead of the demonstration day so that I could have some well-prepared answers.
The visits tend to follow a similar pattern – arrive in medieval clothing and with boxes of armour and equipment, go to a spare office or staff room to get armoured up (often with the help of a teacher or headmaster!), then walk into the hall in front of several dozen excitedly-chatting children. I then talk through my armour and weapons before telling them about the life of a knight and how I would have been trained up. There are always lots of questions from inquisitive kids – some of my favourites have been “how do you go to the toilet?”, “have you killed a dragon?”, “were there female knights?” (Joan of Arc!) and “what’s your favourite animal?”. Then there’s normally time for a few class photos before everyone goes back to their rooms and I can start getting out of the armour and packing up. And then, if you’re really lucky, you get some really cute thank-you notes from the kids!
If you know of a school that would be interested in a visit from the Suffolk Swords then let us know and we may be able to sort something out with them (at very reasonable rates!) in the near future!
