What a trip
One of the main aims of a cross curricular trip is to enable all students to benefit from a variety of stimuli as individuals and as a group, allowing pupils to experience subjects in relation to each other. Our autumn trip to London with 40 Top Year students was arranged to link the areas of English, Design Technology, Art and History. Our two day itinerary enabled us to maximise the time available and concentrated on interesting venues in close proximity, where pupils could also enjoy a walk along the Thames.
Our base in London was HMS Belfast, allowing plenty of freedom to walk to the Design Museum and on to the Tate Modern. The Design Museum featured an exhibition of Formula One racing cars as well as excellent examples of British design. Pupils completed related design worksheets and appreciated the examples of work by contemporary designers.
I was impressed by the way pupils interacted with artist’s work in the Tate Modern, where they became art detectives and completed worksheets strongly related to work in school. They really loved the tube installation in the Turbine Hall and many pupils plan on making a second visit!
We rounded off the evening with an enjoyable meal at Pizza Express and on to The Criterion Theatre to see The Thirty Nine Steps. It was an excellent performance with all characters played by a cast of four. After an action packed day everyone was happy to get a good night’s sleep on the ship, which proved to be both welcoming and comfortable.
The ship provided us with food for the body and mind, as we began day two with a buffet breakfast followed by an interesting lecture on the history of the ship. Pupils enjoyed wearing protective clothing from the Second World War and were fascinated by the interactive lecture and exploring the ship which operates as a living museum.
Our trip concluded with a tour of the Globe Theatre which made excellent links between History and English. We enjoyed exploring the authentic reconstruction of the building and related displays.
Conclusion
It has been rewarding to hear the enthusiastic comments from both students and staff who participated in our full programme of events in London. It proved how valuable it can be to have two days when children can fully engage in a range of diverse but highly stimulating activities. It was a pleasure to see the involvement of the children in every aspect of our trip and hear appreciative comments from members of the public in relation to their behaviour. A major highlight has to be staying on the ship, as the location and unique quality as somewhere to host 45 people in central London is hard to beat.
Mrs S. Vicenzotti Head of Art and Design Technology
Click on the links below to read pupils' reports
