Winds of Change: A Study of Anglesey's Windmills

Cemaes Bay Primary School have won the £1500 prize in the Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative for their study of windmills on Anglesea. There are remains of 31 windmills, whereas once there were 60 working mills at one time in the 19th century.

Pupils studied Anglesey's ruined windmills. They visited the mills and local museums, and made use of a range of resources: a collection of artefacts, census data, trade directories, account books and diaries to create a picture of the community in the past. They presented the findings of their research in posters and other two-dimensional media. The pupils had made an 8-feet high model windmill with powered sails and set up a web-site. Their enthusiasm for the project has been infectious. Their work has been exhibited in two different centres and been the subject of several newspaper articles. They helped to revive an interest in the windmills, which will encourage visits to those that are now being rebuilt.