The Blackden Trust

The Blackden Trust is an educational charity, based in a Tudor Medicine House on a 10,000 year old site, that welcomes pupils from The Manchester Grammar School to look at the past through a new perspective.

Aims

The Blackden Trust is an educational charity, based in a Tudor Medicine House on a 10,000-year-old site. It aims to encourage pupils to look at the past through a new perspective. The goal of The Manchester Grammar School is to support this philosophy, through providing courses and teachers to support the visit of state schools to the site.

Background

The Trust is the home of a former Manchester Grammar School pupil. Trips to the site by MGS boys first started in 2009, organised by Deputy Head of Lower School, who is now a trustee, and who is responsible for the educational development of the site. This involves preparing educational courses and materials for the visits and MGS teachers being released from teaching responsibilities at MGS to teach at the Trust.

Resources

The teaching takes place at Blackden, near to Holmes Chapel, at the home of author Alan Garner. 18 members of the teaching staff support the work of the Trust through planning of workshops and through teaching. Any equipment is on-site, such as original flint tools and other historic artefacts.

Pupil Involvement

All boys in Year 8 visit the Trust, which is roughly 200 pupils per year. Around 10 sixth-formers also visit each year. It is planned to get pupils involved in the delivery of the workshops to primary school pupils.

Frequency

The planning and preparation of courses is an ongoing commitment. As a trustee, Adam meets with other trustees four times a year. There is frequent daily contact between the Trust and The Manchester Grammar School.