Ice Skating at the Natural History Museum:
After a term of football, rounders, and touch-rugby - it was decided that a spot of ice-skating would offer a suitably festive respite to muddy Hyde Park. This year’s annual ice-skating trip took place at the Natural History Museum and was an unequivocal success. ‘Poised', ‘elegant', and ‘graceful’ are not words that would immediately spring to mind while watching the GCSE group negotiate the ice, but they certainly all gave it a very good go and quickly improved their technique.
Maps Exhibition at the British Library:
Year 10 Geography group went on a trip to the British Library. This was principally to visit a new exhibition on maps and cartography. The boys learnt about the historical and cultural significance of map-making and developed an appreciation for a map’s hidden meanings. After lunch, we visited a display of the British Library's most precious literary, historical, scientific and musical works. This included excerpts from Magna Carta, Gutenberg's Bible of 1455, and handwritten lyrics by the Beatles. These certainly caught the boy’s imagination and the trip was a marvellous way to finish off a very successful term.
Imperial War Museum Trip:
Having spent the best part of half a term reading, analysing, and discussing First World War poetry, our year 10 English group took a trip to the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth to gain a better understanding of the historical context within which this wealth of literature was produced. Opened in 2014 to make the start of the centenary The Great War, the IWM's First World War galleries offer a superb insight into the conflict from the eyes of people in Britain and its empire, both on the home front and the fighting fronts. The exhibition has a fantastically rich variety of objects and artefacts, from weapons, uniforms and helmets, to letters, photographs, and diaries. All of which offer a unique insight into what inspired the poets and how we understand their work. I’m pleased to report the boys showed great maturity in how they responded to the exhibition.
James Woolsey, GCSE tutor