TV historian judges Queen’s dress design competition

Competition, history and design all came together for students of a North Yorkshire school, the majority of whom are still learning at home during the lockdown.

Year 7 students at Barlby High School were tasked by History teacher, Louise Fillingham, to create a dress fit for a queen as part of their studies on the Tudor era. Their mission was to design a dress for Queen Elizabeth I which included Tudor symbolism and sent out a message of power to her Northern subjects.

TV Historian and Tudor expert, Tracy Borman, judged the entries and picked the winning design. She said “All of the designs were incredible! It was so hard to choose, but with the help of my husband and daughter, we chose Tymek Skubis’ design as the winner. Huge congratulations to all the fabulous entrants, they are a very talented bunch!

Tymek won a signed copy of Tracy Borman’s book Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him and an Amazon voucher.

History teacher, Louise Fillingham, said “I am a big fan of Tracy’s and was lucky enough to meet her at a Historical Association event last year. When I had the idea for the competition, I contacted her via Twitter to see if she would be our star judge and she was more than happy to do so. Hige thanks to Tracy and her family for taking the time to do this for Barlby High and for helping to maintain the children’s interest in History during lockdown.

“I’m very proud of all the students as they have clearly done a huge amount of research, not to mention how amazing their creative skills are!”

Barlby High School Hope Sentamu Learning Trust is part of the Hope Sentamu Learning Trust, alongside nine other primary and secondary schools across York and North Yorkshire.

20 May 2020