Children learn about past with Minecraft and Lego

Pupils from 11 primary schools across the borough took part in the creative workshops as part of Historic England’s Heritage Schools programme, which aims to help school children develop an understanding of their local heritage and its significance.

A special Minecraft world was built by digital education company Computer Xplorers and Archives: Wigan & Leigh to enable the students to see the inner workings of a mine, meet characters who worked within it, use a pit pony, choose tools, work a coal face, and explore and build miners’ housing.

Students got to explore a digital world on Minecraft to understand the inner workings of a mine (Image: Wigan Council)

In a separate workshop, children built models of steam trains using LEGO® Robotics to better understand the steam engine – the invention that powered the industrial revolution.

The workshop also introduced them to basic coding concepts as they learned to make their models move.

Emma Hoey, a teacher at Leigh Central, said: "The workshops were engaging, creative and had a nice link to local history."

"The children absolutely loved it!".

Minecraft and Lego have been used to deliver engaging workshops to primary school pupils (Image: Wigan Council)

Pupil Sofia enjoyed the experience, saying: "The workshop was really fun because not only was the interactive game educational, but the questions made sure you were paying attention to the history.

"I learned so much about coal mines and the history of Wigan."

The Heritage Schools programme, developed in response to a government report on cultural education in England, aims to help children understand and appreciate their local heritage.

It operates in clusters across eight regions of England, supporting teachers to embed local history into the curriculum and build connections with heritage organisations.

Funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, local heritage education managers work with schools to co-ordinate training, offer curriculum support and broker partnerships with local heritage providers.

Daisy Horsley, education manager for the North West at Historic England, said: "We are delighted that Heritage Schools funding has allowed young people in Wigan to explore their local heritage using modern technologies.

"This has been a really innovative project and it is great to see that the pupils have enjoyed it and learnt so much."