Bournemouth children at King's Park Academy watch their projects go up in smoke

Year one pupils have been studying the Great Fire of London and their teacher Rebekah Wilson, explained: “As part of the topic, the children, who are all aged five and six, were tasked with making models of Tudor houses with the help of their families.

“They built some amazing models and asked if we could recreate the Great Fire with them, so we arranged it as a ‘Great Fire of King’s Park’.”

The Great Fire of London, which started in a humble bakery in Pudding Lane, gripped the capital between 2–5 September 1666, destroying the homes of 70,000 of the city’s 80,000 inhabitants, as well as St Paul’s Cathedral and many other significant buildings.

The Great Fire of King’s Park took place under the close supervision of the school’s site manager and AAT’s fire officer and at a safe distance from school buildings.

Ms Wilson added: “As the fire was started the children all sang London’s Burning in rounds and were wowed as the flames spread from house to house, just like it would have done in 1666. They were very excited to see how quickly the fire engulfed their model street.”

Alex Prout, Director of Early Years Education at Ambitions Academies Trust that owns the school in Ashely Road, Bournemouth, said: “I must admit I had my misgivings when the children said they wanted to start a fire at school. But of course it was all done perfectly safely and it was clear to see just how fascinated the children were by the topic.

“We also saved some of their amazing model houses and these will be displayed in school for all to see.”