Explore the history of the Chelsea Pensioners
Royal Hospital Chelsea is currently engaged in building a suite of cross-curricular learning activities with strong links to the National Curriculum in England. Join us for one of our tailor-made learning sessions or events to learn about over 300 years of history and the role that Royal Hospital Chelsea has played in British society. Unable to visit? Why not let the Chelsea Pensioners come to you? We offer outreach to local London schools and institutions. Take part in a themed workshop or book a talk with a Chelsea Pensioner.
Investigating Uniforms (Ks1- 2)
Subject area (English, history, PSHE)
Pupils get the opportunity to learn about the Royal Hospital Chelsea and the people who reside here through interpretation of their uniform. The workshop facilitator will guide pupils through an overview of military dress and what it is used for, before allowing the children to investigate real pensioners and their pasts.
Students will use their skills in historical investigation to work out what uniform a pensioner would be wearing in different circumstances and will even have the opportunity to dress as a pensioner.
- Welcome to the hospital and information on the history and purpose of Royal Hospital Chelsea
- Military dress over the years and open questions about why it has changed and why we have different uniforms
- Use of sources to correctly dress a soldier and videos to tell stories and give correct information
- Emotion boards to gain an understanding of some of the emotions of being an army veteran
- Chance to try on pensioner uniform
Pupils will use comprehension skills to pick out facts from a piece of written prose and apply them to a series of tasks.
Historical investigative skills will allow pupils to gain an understanding of uniforms and what the parts of them mean.
Children will develop an understanding of the emotions of being a soldier and with that the relevance of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in supporting veterans.
Blitzkrieg- Local history of London (KS2)
Subject area (English, history)
Children use real sources and replicas of artefacts to conduct their own historical investigations into the use of the Royal Hospital Chelsea during the blitz, connecting them to events on an emotional level and realising the extent of damage caused by the blitz. The workshop explores the roles that people at the hospital took on and the loss to property and life as 37 bombs landed on site.
- Brief history of the Royal Hospital Chelsea
- Description of the blitz- Pupils will use artefacts, photographs and investigative skills to gain perspective of what happened during WWII
- Learning through collections- Artefact handling will allow pupils to gain an understanding of what equipment was used during the blitz and make the connection to people of London
To develop an understanding of local history through historical enquiry of sources and artefacts.
Gain an emotional connection to the past through the description of events using onomatopoeia and adjectives.
Understand what the Royal Hospital Chelsea is, what it stands for and its relevance within society.
Billy the Kid- Walking tour (KS2-3)
Subject area (English, history, science, drama, PSHE)
For all schools enquiries or to book a workshop, please contact the Education and Learning Coordinator via phone or email.