Year 7 Grace Shepherd should have been a soldier in the time of William the Conqueror! She has all the understanding it takes to survive attack, amply demonstrated by her beautiful model of the motte and bailey castle, shown here. Grace explained that the motte is the hill (often an artificial earthwork) which stops other armies accessing it, and the bailey, surrounded by fencing and a moat, is where the soldiers lived in huts with their animals, sometimes with a chapel and hall and even shops for local merchants. Since the structure was wooden, when they were attacked they could easily be burnt, so Grace made ladders which the soldiers hauled up into the keep.

The detail she achieved is very impressive. It’s not surprising that Grace loves DT and Art at JAGS. Perhaps there’s something in the genes?  Grace’s grandmother was an illustrator of children’s books, her grandfather is a watercolour artist and her mother is a keen artist and makes puppets! There must be loads of resources at home, not to mention expertise!

We’ve been admiring the models made by an entire History class. Pictures are one thing; making the models has really helped the girls appreciate the social and historical context of the period.