History was brought to life for the Year 5 girls at Melrose when they went to London on a Tudor Trip. Twenty girls, accompanied by staff and parents experienced an action packed 3 days. They began their trip at Westminster Abbey, visiting the tombs of many great Tudor monarchs then on to the National Portrait Gallery where they saw original portraits, some of which appeared in their text books at school, and learnt how to gain historical information from them. This was followed by an evening out Ten Pin Bowling -bowling was of course a pastime enjoyed by Henry VIII himself!
Day 2 involved a visit to The Tower Of London to see Henry VIII’s armour, the execution site and, of course the Crown Jewels. This was followed by a tour of Shakespeare’s Globe and an acting workshop with a professional actor, very exciting! The busy day ended with a fascinating tour of a replica of Sir Francis’ Drakes ship – The Golden Hinde where the girls gained an insight to life on board during his round the world voyage.
The trip culminated in a visit to Hampton Court Palace, where the girls were escorted by one of the palace’s Ladies in Waiting, who told them all about life at court. The girls then had to find their way out of the maze in order to catch their flight home!
Everyone had a fantastic time and great fun whilst learning a great deal. On their return the girls made scrap books to record their memories of their time away.
Elaine Ozanne, who organised the trip said, ‘ We have run this trip for many years. It is wonderful to be able to take the girls out of the classroom to experience history ‘in the flesh’, rather than relying on books or the internet. This trip really brings the Tudors to life and many older girls have looked back and still say that it is one of the highlights of their Melrose years and that they will remember it for many years to come.”