Year 6 children at Mill View Primary School in Upton have been learning about explorers in history such as Christopher Columbus and Francis Drake.

However, when pupils and teachers looked through the history books, children felt that the people in the books were mainly white men of money, and wanted to find out if there were other explorers who had been missed.

Year 6 teacher and assistant headteacher at the school Katie Hetherington explained: "The children have researched figures whom they feel are due to have their moment in the spotlight and deserve to have their story told.

"For example Sacagawea, who accompanied Lewis and Clark as they explored a route across America. Not many people have heard of her, but without her local knowledge of edible plants, survival techniques and safe travel routes they would never have survived.

"Also Matthew Henson, who was part of the first group to reach the North Pole with Robert Peary. Because of the colour of his skin, he wasn’t invited with the others to the White House and only had his achievement acknowledged posthumously.

Mill View Primary School pupils have been researching unsung heroes from history.

"The children have also researched Rick Hansen, who travelled the world in his wheelchair, Ibn Battuta the Muslim explorer, Zheng He who built boats which would have dwarfed Christopher Columbus, Ranulph Fiennes and Jacques Piccard.

"With the support of museum curator Ruth McKew, they learnt how exhibitions are put together, how to make them interactive and how to effectively communicate their ideas."

The exhibition, titled 'Explorers: Hidden Lives', was proudly put on display at the Grosvenor Museum on Tuesday, March 5, providing answers to who these overlooked figures were, what motivated them, what skills they had, why they had been left out of the history books and what people can do to correct this.

The museum exhibition is part of an expeditionary style of learning which Mill View uses, where, with the support of an expert, the children take their learning out in to the real world, publicly sharing what they know.

This ensures that, rather than just recording in a book, learning has real purpose, making an impact on the communities they live in and aiming to make a positive change in the world.

Ms Hetherington added: "Other year groups are also heading out in to their communities to make an impact. Year 3 are using their knowledge of canals and waterways to make an interactive tour of the Chester Canals using QR codes to make a treasure hunt. Year 5 will be part of the Chester University Sustainability Festival in the summer, which they have created videos for to persuade the public to live a more sustainable life."