English Heritage launches Taskmaster challenges for schools

Challenges are available at all of English Heritage’s 400 sites across the country, including abbeys, Roman and Prehistoric sites, castles, halls and houses and are inspired by the Channel 4 TV show, Taskmaster.

The tasks are available for free to enhance a school visit to English Heritage sites and are tailored to specific historical periods from prehistory to the Cold War. The aim is to encourage visiting pupils to work together and think creatively. 

What are the tasks?

The activities are self-led and can be adapted to suit the age groups, interests and abilities. Each ranges from five to 20 minutes and require no additional resources.

Pupils will be encouraged to complete tasks ranging from acting out a duel using slow motion, sound effects and dramatic action, to walking from one part of an abbey to another in the slowest, most dramatic monk-like procession possible.

Other tasks may challenge pupils to invent a formal dance to be done at a hall or house, or estimate the tallest part of a building using the most creative unit of measurement.

A member of staff or a student will be the Taskmaster responsible for giving instructions and deciding the number of points scored.

About Taskmaster Education

Taskmaster Education uses the format of the Channel 4 show to encourage young people to develop key skills, including teamwork, problem-solving and creativity.

Along with challenges at English Heritage sites, schools can set up a Taskmaster Club in school, providing them with activites and resources. Alternatively, Taskmaster Education also offers School Tasking, an outreach project which enables Year 5 classes to learn about aspects of the law through fun and interactive tasks.

Classes are split into teams of five or six to compete against each other, other local schools, and, ultimately, other schools across the country in a bid to be crowned that year’s School Tasking Champions.