Students at Killerton "keep calm and carry on"

Broadclyst Primary School and Killerton have partnered up once again to put on a show-stopping performance of Keep Calm and Carry On! on 13 and 14 June at 1.30pm and 4pm.

A play set in the days following the Exeter Blitz, Keep Calm and Carry On! will explore life as an evacuee at Killerton House. The production will take place as a series of sketches performed by the year 5 class and will take place around Killerton's house and garden.

The storyline is based on Killerton’s evacuee schools during the war, researched and written by the children with the help of teachers and staff at Killerton. The audience will see history come to life as they meet an ‘elite’ unit of Home Guardsmen, gossip with members of the Land Army, listen in on teachers’ staff room conversations and watch children prepare for the possibility of a gas attack.

Victoria Hampshire, one of Year 5’s class teachers, says: "The project this year has allowed the children at Broadclyst Primary School to learn about how the Second World War affected their locality, in a practical, experiential way.

"It has provided a meaningful backdrop for a wide range of learning opportunities across the curriculum.

"Apart from learning lines and performing, the children have researched the time period, written scripts, publicised the event and even produced a range of topical programmes in the school’s television studio."

Eileen Dillon, the National Trust learning officer for Killerton Estate, when speaking about the project, said: "One of the most rewarding aspects of this project has been to observe pupils collecting first hand accounts from relatives and family friends, who lived on the Killerton Estate during World War Two.

"Using drama to interpret their research has enabled them to empathise with people from the past and enriched their understanding of World War Two history in their home town.

"For those visitors who miss the performance, there will be an exhibition including film footage of the performance, in the study at Killerton from 24 August to 13 September."

The longstanding partnership between Broadclyst primary school and Killerton, has allowed local school children use the surrounding history and countryside to engage with and discover their past. This year’s performance is a result of last year’s successful rendition of The Killerton Speech which told the story of Lloyd George’s visit to Killerton in 1925.

This project is not only enriching for the pupils, it will give visitors at Killerton on 13 and 14 June a rare chance to see Killerton’s World War Two history brought to life in an innovative and entertaining promenade performance.

Photos are from last year's performance of The Killerton Speech.

Click here for visitor information to Killerton.