Children love following a map, figuring out clues and finding treasure so developing a trail is the perfect way for students to engage in their local area. The student resource “how to write a trail” takes students through a step by step process of creating their own treasure trail on a theme or topic which fits in with your school’s schemes of learning. This guide supports students to create their own treasure trail around their part of the forgotten landscape, which they can then ask other students to follow and uncover the treasures.

See the case study below to find out how pupils from Crossways in Thornbury developed a local trail based on old photographs of the area. Each group researched an old building and its history before creating some questions about its use. Meanwhile, students from Our Lady of the Rosary in Lawrence Weston based their trail on pieces of artwork that they had created. As a finale, they invited each other to trial their trails!

What is the educational case for writing a trail?

• Writing a trail encourages all students to be active outdoors.
• Developing a route around their local area increases their awareness of their surroundings.
• Writing clues improves literacy.
• Creating clues to uncover unusual treasures develops imagination.
• Students develop their skills of communication and working in a team while working with peers to develop their trail.

What is the educational case for a school exchange?

• Students develop a sense of pride in their local heritage.
• Students develop their understanding of their local geography and their place in the world.
• Students experience a new place and gain an understanding of another areas of their local environment.
• Students develop their skills of communication and working in a team while when showing other students around their local area.

Curriculum Links

• Pupils should develop knowledge about the world, the United Kingdom and their locality. (KS1 Geography)
• Pupils should be able to use simple compass directions (North, South, East and West) and locational and directional language [for example, near and far; left and right], to describe the location of features and routes on a map. (KS1 Geography)
• Pupils should use fieldwork to observe, measure, record and present the human and physical features in the local area using a range of methods, including sketch maps, plans and graphs, and digital technologies. (KS2 Geography)
• Pupils should be taught about significant historical events, people and places in their own locality. (KS1 History)
• Pupils should make a study of an aspect of history or a site dating from a period beyond 1066 that is significant in the locality. (KS2 History)