Children from across the UK can win a trip for their class to London to see the Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum later this year, and the site of one of the tapestry’s subjects—the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
The free competition, called “Beyond The Battle”, invites Key Stage 2 primary school classes (children aged 7-11) to design the missing piece of the nearly 1000-year-old tapestry, which is thought to be either incomplete or lost. “Beyond the Battle asks pupils to imagine that missing panel for themselves, and to fill it with something other than conquest,” says a competition statement.
The competition was launched by the Franco-British arts organisation, Art Explora, and English Heritage, the charity responsible for the Norman battlefield and more than 400 other historic sites across England. Participating schools will receive learning resources created by the embroidery artist Jessica Grady, and runners-up classes will be awarded a funded visit to their nearest Norman English Heritage site. Winning entries will feature in a special exhibition, with further details to be announced.
The Battle of Hastings is depicted towards the end of the surviving panels of the Bayeux Tapestry
Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
The tapestry depicts in 58 scenes the 1066 Norman invasion and the Battle of Hastings that ended in the defeat of Harold II of England by William, duke of Normandy, better known as William the Conqueror. The final scenes show the death of Harold along with his troops fleeing following their defeat at Hastings.
According to the BBC, it is unclear how much longer the original tapestry was or what it depicted, but most experts believe it had an additional 8ft-10ft including an embroidery of William’s coronation on Christmas Day in 1066.
Frédéric Jousset, the founder of Art Explora, says in a statement: “The Bayeux Tapestry is an iconic symbol of our shared European cultural histories. I am delighted to celebrate this historic loan from France to the UK with a national project to encourage all school children to learn and discover this amazing work of art.” Jousset is the founder of WebHelp, a tech support and outsourcing company that was sold to Concentrix for $4.8bn in 2023.
The Bayeux Tapestry will be displayed in the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery at the British Museum from 10 September until 11 July 2027, while the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Normandy undergoes renovations. The tapestry will be shown horizontally for the first time in the British Museum display.
According to its website, the museum will also “release thousands of free tickets for UK schools only—the highest number we’ve offered—to this once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
