Peter the Wild Boy

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Peter the Wild Boy


We were delighted to work with Openstorytellers, a company of storytellers with learning disabilities, to explore one of the lesser known but fascinating stories of Kensington Palace. 
Peter the Wild Boy - Storytelling session

This is how we imagine Peter’s story (Easy read)



Here is Peter
Peter lived in the forest.
He made a bed in a hollow tree.
He felt the rain.
He felt the sun.
He watched the leaves dance.
He was friends with the wild animals and birds.
He listened to the sounds of the forest.
One day the King came hunting.
The King saw Peter and chased him.
Peter was caught and taken away from the forest.

Now Peter lived at the palace. 
The doors closed on him.
The King and Queen looked after him.
He was given a red jacket and green trousers to wear.
He did not like wearing a hat – he would throw it on the ground.
All around him were people dressed in fine silks and velvet.
All around him were strange smells.
All around him were the sounds of people talking.
Peter covered his ears. He could not understand the noise.
But when the music played, Peter was happy and he danced.
He liked to hear the Queen’s watch ticking.
People tried to teach Peter to talk. 
But he never learned. 
He just made sounds.

When Peter got older, he had to leave the palace.
He went to live on a farm.
The King and Queen gave money to the farmer to care for him.
He worked hard on the farm.

One day he ran away.
He came to the town of Norwich. 
It was noisy and smelly.
Peter tried to talk.
But people could not understand him.
They thought he was strange.
They put him in a prison for poor people and beggars.

He stayed there for a long time.
One night there was a fire. 
The flames roared. Peter ran out.
The story of the fire was in the newspaper with a picture of Peter.

His friends brought him back to the farm.
He  lived at the farm until he died. 


Learning Resources

The Outreach & Community Involvement team aims to help everyone, particularly those who are disadvantaged within our society, explore the stories of our palaces to find relevance and meaning to life today.  We were delighted to work with Openstorytellers, a company of storytellers with learning disabilities, to explore one of the lesser known but fascinating stories of Kensington Palace. This is their resource pack to help you tell the story. 

PeterEdu_1

Openstorytellers are a company of storytellers with learning disabilities. We are interested in our history and finding out about the lives of people like us in the past. This is how we imagine Peter’s story.
The story of Peter the Wild Boy with illustrations, easy read (PDF 256KB) >


This resource has been designed to teach children and young people about the history of Peter, and to discuss some of the complex questions about inclusion, humanity and intelligence that his story raises. 

It is an inclusive resource which can be used with students whose skills are preverbal; who have severe and or profound learning difficulties; dual sensory impairments, autistic spectrum or specific language difficulties.  It can also be enjoyed by students in the mainstream.
Peter's story, an educational resource (PDF 65KB) >

Ideas for props to support the educational resource (PDF 2.4MB) >


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