Bringing history to life in the Junior School

As part of their history topic on The Tudors, the whole of Year 5 enjoyed a visit to Gloucester Cathedral.

The origins of this cathedral date back to 681AD, and at some point in the early 11th century it became a Benedictine monastery.

As part of their day, the girls heard about what life was like for the monks of the monastery, and had the chance to dress up in traditional monastic tunics.

They explored the Cathedral’s great Cloister, which is famous for its magnificent fan vaulting and is believed to be the earliest example in England. The design itself incorporates a row of twenty carrels (niche like spaces), which would have originally housed desks for the monks to study at.

Of course, many of the girls were already familiar with this space as it featured in several of the Harry Potter films.

In a series of practical, interactive sessions, the girls also made their own Tudor scented pomanders, examined artefacts and wrote with feather quills.

Speaking of the trip, Mrs Gamble a Year 5 teacher said, “This is always a popular day out, as it brings to life what the girls have been learning in their humanities lessons in the classroom.”

"It was also very rewarding to have the staff at the cathedral and members of the public comment on how well behaved and polite our girls were."

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