Archaeology in Education

The Canterbury Archaeological Trust has long been aware of its educational commitment to the public and to the community of Kent in particular. Within its budget, it has endeavored to meet this by staging exhibitions, giving lectures, and holding Open Days. The sterling work of Mrs. Marjorie Lyle has generated among many local school children a special interest in Canterbury's history through its archaeology. It is this element of the Trust's work which we are now developing; we are aware of the National Curriculum developments and are liaising with the teaching profession to assist in current needs.

Our broad aim is to further increase awareness of local archaeology and, wherever possible, to enable teachers and pupils alike to experience it firsthand. We are seeking long-term funding for our education program, and thanks to the interest and support of Dr. Alec Detsicas, we have just received a sum of £2000 from the K.A.S. which will enable us to continue in this area. We are very grateful to both the Society and to Dr. Detsicas in particular for this much-needed assistance.

Our present service is composed chiefly of provision for group visits to major excavations (with a format designed specifically for schools); a guide to introduce the subject of Archaeology and its potential; visits to classes in school, by request; Work Experience placements, and dealing with various requests for local archaeological data and assistance with school projects. This is a reasonable workload, given our present resources. For the immediate future, we see these elements forming the backbone of our schools' education service while we are very willing to offer assistance with any request where it is within our capabilities to do so.

Marion Green, Education Officer, Canterbury Archaeological Trust.