EDUCATION

Our close partnerships with local primary and secondary schools, as well as higher education providers like Cardiff University, allow us to facilitate transition and progression, break down barriers to education and offer exciting extra-curricular opportunities.

Foundation Phase

We are looking to expand our schools offer, please let us know if you have any suggestions or if you would like to be involved developing this.

Key Stage 2

We are able to offer one hour in-school workshops which introduce the history and archaeology of Cardiff’s oldest and largest monument, Caerau Hillfort, and allow pupils to get hands on with heritage. We can tailor the workshops to suit the needs of the school (e.g. healthy eating, migration, archaeological investigation) and/or focus on different periods of the past in Wales including the Neolithic (Stone Age), Bronze Age, Iron Age, the Romans and the Middle Ages.  This can be delivered as part of the Transition project or as a stand-alone workshop.

We are currently working with Cardiff University undergraduate students who are developing new one hour workshops for schools at Key Stage 2: these will be available in the coming year. We are looking to expand our schools offer so please let us know if you have any suggestions or if you would like to be involved developing this.

Transition to Secondary

Our schools offer can aid in bridging the gap between primary and secondary schools. Working alongside Cardiff West Community High School, St Fagans National Museum of History and local primary schools, we have a developing programme consisting of three steps:

1. Initially, we work with individual primary classes to introduce them to the history and archaeology of Cardiff’s oldest and largest monument, Caerau Hillfort, through interactive workshops within their own schools

2. To enhance this learning, we then offer bespoke visits to Bryn Eryr reconstructed Iron Age village at St Fagans National Museum of History and Caerau Hillfort. For the primary school visit, we enlist the support of Year 8 pupils who act as mentors throughout the day

3. Finally, the primary pupils and their secondary mentors are brought together.  Based in the secondary school setting, primary pupils get to familiarise themselves with their surroundings and work collaboratively to develop a shared understanding of their local heritage

If your school is interested in taking part in primary provision we offer, please contact the team on: hiddenhillfort@aceplace.org

Key Stage 3

We are able to offer one hour in-school workshops which introduce the history and archaeology of Cardiff’s oldest and largest monument, Caerau Hillfort, and allow pupils to get hands on with heritage. We can tailor the workshops to suit the needs of the school (e.g. healthy eating, migration, archaeological investigation) and/or focus on different periods of the past in Wales including the Neolithic (Stone Age), Bronze Age, Iron Age, the Romans and the Middle Ages.

We are currently working with Cardiff University undergraduate students who are developing new one hour workshops for schools at Key Stage 3: these will be available in the coming year. We are looking to expand our schools offer so please let us know if you have any suggestions or if you would like to be involved developing this.

Key Stage 4

We may be able to offer bespoke one hour in-school workshops about the history and archaeology of Wales that relate to the Key Stage 4 curriculum.  Please contact the team to discuss your needs.

Transition to Higher Education

We can facilitate school visits to Cardiff University’s School of History, Archaeology and Religion. Activities usually include a tour of the department, including the labs, talks and a chance to meet with members of staff.  We also offer volunteering opportunities for young people, particularly at Key Stage 5, who are looking to gain experience in archaeological discovery.

Scholarships

The CAER Heritage scholarships have been created to support young people from Cardiff West Community High School to a degree programme, and to help young people from Ely and Caerau achieve their ambition of studying for a degree. The scholarships can be used to support you in a variety of ways: for example, from purchasing books and (or) study equipment, to travel or interview expenses, support for field trips, and (or) support with examination fees or (where this is not covered by other support resources) course fees. In addition, they provide you with an opportunity to become involved with local projects where the skills you gain can in turn support your local community.

We are working with Cardiff West Community High School to support sixth form students with transition to Further and Higher Education.

Undergraduate & Postgraduate Opportunities

We currently provide a range of opportunities for students taking undergraduate or postgraduate degrees at Cardiff University. These include both educational and employability opportunities, as well and expanded networks through extra-curricula volunteering, outreach and other placements.  Please get in touch with the team to talk about opportunities to get involved.

Live Local, Learn Local

Pathway to Degree

Scholarships: Adult Learners

The scholarships have been created to support adult learners in their progression on the pathways to a degree programme, and to help individuals from Ely and Caerau to achieve your ambition of studying for a degree. The scholarships can be used to support you in a variety of ways: for example, from purchasing books and (or) study equipment, to travel or interview expenses, support for field trips, and (or) support with examination fees or (where this is not covered by other support resources) course fees. In addition, they provide you with an opportunity to become involved with local projects where the skills you gain can in turn support your local community.

To be eligible for the scholarship, you must live within the CF5 4 and CF5 5 postcode areas, and be registered for any of the Continuing and Professional Education Pathways to a Degree run through Cardiff University. To find out more about Pathways to a degree, visit: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/part-time-courses-for-adults/pathways-to-a-degree

And if you need any help with this, or have any questions, do get in touch, either with Kimberley from the CAER Heritage team ( kimberleyj@aceplace.org ) or with Sara, Jan, Michelle and Paul from Pathways to a degree ( Pathways@cardiff.ac.uk ). We’ll be happy to help!

Curiosity Club

Curiosity Club will build on and complement existing Hidden Hillfort activities in order to expand this experience for young people by offering science-based opportunities to further explore and experiment. Scientific strands of interest to young people include:

– What people made. Young people will learn how to analyse, conserve and re-create objects that people made and used in the past. First, archaeological artefacts from Caerau Hillfort will be analysed – e.g. metals can be examined using a portable xrf scanner. Next, young people will explore why materials deteriorate and how to conserve them. Finally, young people will explore past technologies – e.g. understanding how metals are cast by adapting experimental archaeological techniques, using molten chocolate rather than bronze to create edible replicas.

-What people ate. Young people will experiment with scientific techniques to identify bones and plant remains from Caerau Hillfort. Using participants’ hair and stable isotope analysis, Young people will create the first ever crowd sourced dietary map of their community (using anonymised data). This will enable exploration of diet and culture in the past, present and future.

– Changing Environments. Young people will examine pollen from past and present to
understand changing climates and human impact on their local environment.