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Sixth Form
Our first port of call was the recently
transformed Imperial War Museum. We
began with a workshop on the Holocaust:
Touching the Past
, learning how
historians use artefacts to unlock the
secrets of the past. We were particularly
moved by the story of a mechanical
toy dancing bear that belonged to a
boy kept in hidden in a cupboard by his
piano teacher between 1941 and 1945.
Acting as museum curators, students
selected three items from the array of
Holocaust replica items, from barbed
wire to Zyklon-B gas cannisters and
suitcases to Star of David armbands, to
convey a theme of their choice.
In the Holocaust Exhibition we were
moved by the nefarious alternative
uses for medical tables; the sense of
being in a train compartment used for
deportation and the sheer scale of the
starkly bleached model of Auschwitz.
Our next destination – Westminster
Abbey. We split into three groups to
marvel at the restored Coronation Chair;
pay our respects at the Tomb of the
Unknown Warrior; spot names in Poet’s
Corner and walk up the aisle in the style
of Will and Kate! Tudor propaganda was
very much in action in the Henry VII
Chapel with the use of decorative Tudor
roses, portcullises and greyhounds –
everywhere – impressively coupled with
the pendant fan vault ceiling; heraldic
flags; stained glass; gilt bronze tombs
and an urn quite possibly containing the
remains of the Princes in the Tower…
Finally, we toured Westminster on foot,
taking in the sights of 10 Downing Street;
the Cenotaph; the changing of the guard
at Horse Guards’ Parade and, of course,
the lions of Trafalgar Square! We came
home exhausted, but historically sated.
Cat Gray, Teacher of History
Year 12 History trip to London ~ with a 4am start!
It was a really great, fact filled
day. Really worth the 4am start!
Emotional, exuberant, enhancing
are the three words that come to
mind when I look back on the AS
History Trip of 2015.
I wonder what was behind
Britain’s oldest door?
One of many questions raised in
the eye-opening trip!
Although I had lack of sleep there
and back, it was an interesting
day with lots to see.
Year 13 Geologists and Scientists also visit London
During the last week of the autumn term
our year 13 chemists and geologists went
on a joint trip to London.
Fran Dumas took the chemists to the
National Gallery for a lecture on chemistry
inart, featuring thepainting
The Incredulity
of St Thomas
, a Renaissance painting by
Cima.
Dave Waistnidge took the geologists to
the Geologists' Association headquarters,
visiting Green Park tube station, to see its
fossil refurbishment, on the way.
Bothgroups thenmet upat theNatural History
Museum before having a well-deserved meal
and getting back after a long, but thoroughly
enjoyable, day.
Dave Waistnidge
Sea Strata
a new work of art for Green
Park Underground station by Royal
Academician John Maine
