Back to the Classroom for Textile Training
Primary school teachers from across the Yorkshire region learnt some new skills to pass onto their pupils – thanks to a new course run by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.
Dozens of teachers from as far afield as Northallerton, York and Harrogate to Brighouse and Bridlington went back to the classroom for a day to take part in a “Textile Techniques in the Classroom” course run by the Society.
For the past six years, the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, best known for organising the annual Great Yorkshire Show and its sister event Countryside Live, has run a series of short courses throughout the year for teachers and teaching assistants from across the region.
Run by the Society’s Education Department, the courses have included a wide range of subjects, including willow weaving, poultry keeping and vegetable growing.
The one-day course, hosted by Viv Chapman and Margaret Murphy, founder members of North Yorkshire-based ArtBox, included a range of traditional skills for the teachers to try, including weaving, appliqué, and sewing.
After going out into the 250-acre showground and drawing up a colour bar to reflect the colours in the local landscape, the teachers used their newly-acquired appliqué skills to decorate squares of fabric before trying their hands at making a basic card loom, then weaving.
Said Viv: “The aim is to give teachers ideas to pass onto their pupils and show them that this sort of practical work is not too daunting.
“Once they have learned the basic techniques, they can expand on them. It is a great way for children to express themselves and be creative. Once learned they are skills for life and can be enjoyed by children of all ages and at all levels of ability,” she added.
Janet MacGregor, a Year 3/4 teacher from Broomfield Primary School at Northallerton said the one-day course had been inspiring. I have done a fair bit of patchwork and appliqué work at home, but I have come away with many new ideas to take back to the classroom for the children to learn, and enjoy,” she said.
Media contact: Judy Thompson, PR Manager, Yorkshire Agricultural Society – judyt@yas.co.uk or 01423 546215.
YORKSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY:
The Yorkshire Agricultural Society was formed in 1837 and is a charity dedicated to supporting the farming industry and rural life. This year sees its 175th anniversary. The value of the support it provides to regional farming and countryside initiatives has risen year on year to almost £1m. It is based at the Regional Agricultural Centre, Harrogate; the RAC includes Fodder, the Society’s regional food shop and café which opened in June 2009. Both the RAC and Fodder have won a number of awards, including in 2010, being named as the Observer Monthly Best Independent Local Retailer.
The Society is the organiser of England’s premier agricultural show, the Great Yorkshire Show and its sister event, Countryside Live. The 2012 Great Yorkshire Show runs from Tuesday 10 – Thursday 12 July and last year’s event attracted 135,086 visitors. The record attendance is 135,111, established in 2006. Countryside Live takes place on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 October 2012 at Harrogate and there were a record breaking 10,700 visitors to the 2011 event.
Tags:
