Two armed savages, clad in mail and brandishing swords and axes, helped hundreds of school children to create their own stories based around the outlaw hero Robin Hood.

Two actors, who run the historical educational company ’Time Capsule Education’, visited a number of schools across the island, with the aid of authentic-looking period costumes, weapons and props to teach medieval history in a dramatic and eye-catching way.

The aim of the performances is to inspire children to write their own stories, based around what the actors have discussed during the workshops.

’We go all around the country,’ said Tim Eaglin, the founder of Time Capsule Education.

’We work with kids at primary school age and essentially we tell them stories.

’The stories can be anything, from highwaymen, or Beowulf.

’But we also do science fiction stories, or stories about spies.

’It’s anything that lends itself to getting dressed up and acting out scenes that will inspire the kids.

’We’re doing Robin Hood today,’ Tim went on. ’ We do one session with the kids that is all about him, about the history, knights and castles, and then we’ll act out a story.

’The idea then is we get the kids to write their own.

’We go into school, dressed up in all the right stuff, and we aim to inspire to kids to get writing.’

Dressed in chain mail and medieval costume, brandishing an axe and a shield, Tim, a former primary school teacher along with fellow actor John Terris, who has also worked as an extra on the children’s TV educational series Horrible Histories, certainly looked like they they had been neatly plucked from the scene of a Robin Hood story and deposited in a modern-day school. Children from the Bunscoill Ghaelgagh, in St John’s, also entered into the spirit, coming dressed as medieval knights, outlaws, maids or princesses.

’We’ve been to Arbory school, in Ballabeg and Ballacottier, so far this week.

’We’ve worked with about 450 kids already and now we’re at the Bunscoill. We hope that it is going to be the first of many trips.

’The kids have been great and they have really got into the idea of it.’

’Hopefully we’ll be able to come back sometime soon and work with some different schools,’ he said.

’Maybe as pirates,’ Tim hinted. ’We like dressing up as pirates too.’