November 7th 2019
Exploring the Celts
On Monday morning, all of Year 5 headed to Wittenham Clumps on a Humanities site visit to tie in with their Celts topic. The boys were able to stand on top of the Iron Age fort and spot all of the elements that early Celts required for a settlement, for example a river, good building materials, surrounded by fertile farmland and the ability to spy any enemy ‘for miles'. Boys were able to compare contour lines on a map with the different gradients of the neighbouring Clump and were able to make the connection between the 2D map and 3D landscape!
The boys were also able to see first hand the fortifications from the ancient hill fort. At first sight the boys were not overwhelmed by the magnitude of the site, but the advantages of building at height were soon proven on a beautiful clear morning and estimates for how far could be seen ranged from 5 to 20 miles. They were amazed by the depth of the hand dug ditch and weren’t sure if they would have liked to attack a defending force by running up it, especially into a hail of arrows and stones! It seemed appropriate that they should try to attack the gatehouse up a steep slope and through a narrow channel, though the defenders appeared to have a lot of fun with their foam swords and arrows when repelling their enemy.
We all had a great time and look forward to reflecting on the trip in future lessons.
