Class 6 Trip to Hadrian's Wall
On Monday the 5th, the children of 6TG had to arrive at school as early as 6:45. After what turned out to be an eight-hour drive in a minibus to Northumberland, we arrived ready for adventure at the Roman fort of Housestead, just metres away from the 73-mile wall that marks the northern edge of emperor Hadrian's gargantuan empire.
We clambered through dramatic scenery right on day one. Our trip was then peppered with three visits by foot to engaging, hands-on museums and the great Vindolanda fort, the whole trip being underpinned by extended, rigorous yet joyful hikes.
Across five days, the children faced this threshold experience so far away from home with new maturity and abilities to work through any challenges they faced. They learned a lot about how the wall was built and laid out with its many milecastles, turrets and forts, and could experience first-hand how challenging it must have been for the hardy soldiers who were posted here.
Mr Room taught the class how to march Roman-style and regaled them with his humorous tales. We were also visited by Roy, a Roman re-enactment expert, who equipped the children with weapons, costumes and armour and taught them how to march in tortoise formation.
Vast amounts of fun were had, stunning scenery surrounded us wherever we went, and we even got to see a stoat and a rare sort of rainbow that was completely white.
Thomas Godber
Class 6 Teacher
