Many children '˜don't know who fought in the Battle of Hastings'

Almost seven in ten children (69 percent) don't know who fought in the Battle of Hastings, according to new research from Playmobil on the 950th anniversary of the battle.
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The victory of William the Conqueror, shown in the Bayeux Tapestry, failed to make an impact on nearly 40 percent of pupils who weren’t able to identify him, with one in 10 believing him to be a fictional character.

According to the research, children from the South East, were among the least likely to know details of the battle, with 76 percent unable to say who was involved.

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Scottish children came out as the most knowledgable, with 44 percent correctly identifying the Normans and Anglo-Saxons.

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Medieval historian Dr Marc Morris has commemorated the milestone anniversary by enlisting some miniature Playmobil friends to recreate famous scenes from the Tapestry, as the research highlighted children rated playtime amongst their top three ways to learn.

The author of The Norman Conquest said, “My sons and I had enormous fun putting together these scenes from the Bayeux Tapestry using Playmobil.

“As well as learning about the story of 1066, we also discovered lots of other things about the Normans and the Anglo-Saxons: the clothes they wore, the weapons they used – even their different hairstyles.

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“Creative play is a great way of getting young children thinking about the past.”

The nation’s parents seem to be in agreement, with almost 80 percent saying play and re-enactment is an important tool for children when learning about historical events.

Jamie Dickinson, Playmobil marketing manager, sais: “We always keep education front of mind with our toys to make learning as fun as possible and pique childrens’ curiosity and creativity at an early age.

“Our Knights toys remain just as popular as they were over 40 years ago, with the Romans and Egyptians ready to take centre stage next year.”

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