Mansfield school pupils publish book exploring town's past, present and future
Creative pupils at a Mansfield primary school have had their literary projects published as part of a heartwarming annual school tradition.
Each Christmas, year six children at Farmilo Primary School and Nursery professionally publish their very own book, and this year the focus was centred around ‘Mansfield past and present’.
Beginning with a “superb” trip to Mansfield Museum to learn about our town’s industrial heritage, before taking part in a heritage walk around the town, pupils built their own understanding of the history of our area before starting the project.
This was followed by a Mansfield Town FC match and stadium tour, and as well as exploring the town’s past, pupils worked on their vision for the building the Mansfield of the future.
This culminated in them presenting planning applications both to mayor Andy Abrahams and Ben Bradley MP for suggestions – including an eco-friendly shopping centre and a new park – to show a keen interest in the town’s development.
And then the pupils produced a poem – We are Mansfield – celebrating the best of the town.
After several weeks of writing their own stories, tales and poems, pupils then held a launch event at Linney in Mansfield with the book being published.
Adam Newman, key stage two coordinator, said the book scheme is an “ambitious” project for the children.
He said: “The year six book project is an important and ambitious project every year, designed to engage pupils and enrich their writing opportunities.
“This year, we chose to combine this with our local history studies and really celebrate the town.
“Pupils have been fascinated by so much of the town’s history but have also been keen to share their own ideas for its future and how they can help shape that.
“We are incredibly grateful to so many organisations, individuals and companies in our local community who have supported this project.”
The children were joined by Nick Linney for the launch, who helped them find out more about the company’s role in Mansfield’s industrial heritage.
Pupils’ proud families and many members of the community who have supported the project were also in attendance as the book went on sale.