26th March 2019

Encouraging children to find out how their local shops have changed

We launched a school resource pack today for junior school children, based on our research into the history of the Bishy Road shops over the last 150 years. A group of Year 4 children from Scarcroft School embarked upon a trail, answering questions about the shops as they progressed.

The group were also filmed by a reporter from our local TV Channel, That's York TV.

Our researcher, Susan Major, said ”We’ve been working with Joanne Woodhouse at Scarcroft School to devise a useful pack to link in with the curriculum. Using laminated images and maps, it prepares children for walking around their neighbourhood spaces, looking at how traders have changed over a long period and questioning why.”

Joanne said “The pack will really inspire children to develop a sense of historical curiosity about their local area and understand how it has developed. They will gain an understanding of how and why some things change and others remain the same, strengthening their knowledge and appreciation of the community in which they live.“

Susan has been giving talks around the area about this topic and we produced the pack with support for our community outreach from the Micklegate Ward Fund. Councillor Jonny Crawshaw said “Clement’s Hall Local History Group have undertaken some fascinating research over the past few years and we were delighted to be able to support them with Ward Funding. Learning about where you grow up is great for building community links and really helps bring history to life for children so it’s great to see Scarcroft School getting involved with this fantastic project “

Susan’s researches into the history of the local shops on Bishy Road were published by the group last year in a book, Bishy Road: a York shopping street in time, with support from trusts, Micklegate Ward Fund and the local traders.

Bishopthorpe Road Traders Association said “We are delighted to support this fabulous educational resource, focusing on the history of Bishy Rd. Our modern day success story is actually based upon over 100 years of independent traders meeting the needs of local people.”