Humanities

The Year 8 students enjoyed a productive Geographical Investigation Day on Wednesday, carrying out surveys to assess the impact that Hampton Court Palace has on the local area. Scores for environmental quality were calculated, land use maps labelled and questionnaires were completed by helpful passers-by.... The sun shone and everyone contributed with positivity and focus – well done Year 8!

This year, the Year 1 children have been working on a project to create their very own first book in French. The story called ‘Le voyage fantastique des Year 1’ is about a group of Year 1 children who want to travel the world and discover different countries using a magic red bus. They put into practice... their French speaking and writing skills when inventing the story, and got the chance to record themselves speaking French when making an audio version of their book. The project combines cross-curricular subjects, including French, Art, Life Skills and Geography.

The Year 12 History curriculum covers the Stuart period as one of the A level modules and always culminates in 1649 and the trial and execution of Charles I. Head of History, Thomas Roberts would usually conduct a mock trial at school and thought, “there’s no reason not to attempt the same over Zoom”.... The fact that UK courts have resorted to conducting trials via Skype due to C19 made it seem especially fitting to do so. The lesson worked extremely well, mainly due to the fact that the students made the effort to come fully prepared, even dressing up for the occasion. It goes to show that when you have enthusiastic students there’s no reason why remote learning can’t be creative, interactive and fun.

On Friday Years 7 and 8 spent the day at Westminster Abbey, a site of significant historical and religious importance in London. Contextualising 1000 years of history, the students could walk past the tombs of kings and queens that shaped the nation, look at the chair that was used in the coronation... of monarchs from Henry VIII to Elizabeth II, as well as reciting the beginning of The Canterbury Tales near the remains of Geoffrey Chaucer. Despite the rain, the group really enjoyed their excursion and the chance to deepen their knowledge from their Perspectives and History lessons.

To complement their work in humanities on ancient Greece, Year 4 went on a trip to the British Museum on Wednesday 29th January. They very much enjoyed using augmented reality technology on tablets supplied by the British Museum to explore the Parthenon Gallery. They learned about ancient Greek religion... and how the Parthenon’s architecture celebrated Athena’s greatness and communicated the power of Athens. The Year 4 pupils had a great day exploring the museum!

Children in Year 1 did a humanities project looking at objects from the past including telephones and clothes.

They then compared past objects which ones we use nowadays, considering their evolution and transformation.

On Monday, Year 7 spent the day at Hampton Court Palace. The children had the opportunity to travel back to Tudor times and discover the apartments of the famous King Henry VIII.

They took part in two workshops: Henry to Mary: a religious roller coaster and Tudor kitchens revealed.

The children enjoyed exploring the beautiful palace gardens at lunchtime and all agreed that it was a fantastic and very interesting day.