As most of the talk this week has been about today’s trip, we will focus on that.  Quite a bit of other work has also happened – including more work on Street Child (Jim’s escape from the workhouse), plenty of maths on multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000, as well as topic work and PE.

Today’s trip was superb.

We left school at 9.15am and had a clear run down to Basingstoke, arriving a little early.

We were shown into a classroom which we had to share with another school – but both sets of children were impressively sensible in sharing the room and leaving it for the next group.

The museum is vast – so there was plenty to do in the first hour or so – free time to look around.  The exhibits represent a range of time periods (not all Victorian) – there are shops, businesses, life-like streets, and lots of vehicles.  Most of the them can be seen up close.  Some of the set-pieces have people (models or real people) working in them, so that the children could get a feel for what it would be like working there, and in some cases ask questions.

After an early lunch, it was time to experience the Victorian schoolroom.  Miss Goddard was quite a scary presence – boys and girls sat separately in neat rows with their hands behind their backs (good for posture), and not speaking until spoken to.  She ran them through some handwriting drills on slates, and then some arithmetic on abaci.  After 40 minutes or so, she came out of role and discussed with the children some of the more unpleasant aspects of a Victorian schoolroom (not least the boredom of six hours a day of rote learning).  She then instructed the first group not to tell the second group what had happened (and even to ham it up a bit – rubbing their hands ruefully as they left).

Next was a visit to the Penny Arcade, where each child was given 12d (one shilling if I remember correctly) for the various slot machines.  The ‘Predict the Future’ machine was a highlight, as was a ‘grip strength’ tester.  The coin push arcade game turned into an easy way to lose money (hopefully there’s a lesson in that somewhere, especially for the person who said, ‘This is so addictive, I’ve spent all my money…’)

Your children were great to take on the trip, and their attitude to the odd bit of waiting around, or to tidying up the lunch space, was exemplary.

Many thanks to the parents who supported the trip, to the staff who organised it, and to the children for making the most of it.

Have a relaxing weekend.

Y5 Team