March 14th 2023
Learning about local history
Miss Avery, Mr Holden, Mr Smith and Mr Squire were delighted to be able to take the whole of Year 5 on a visit to Wallingford this week to reinforce learning from the Humanity lessons and apply it to the real world. It was fascinating giving the boys a chance to be Humanities detectives; discovering the human history that had been hitherto hidden in plain sight, of Wallingford's over 1000 years of occupation.
For the History side, Mr Smith led a walking tour around Wallingford Castle, explaining its significance in English history and touching on topics like the Anglo-Saxon and Norman fortifications, which the boys will learn more about next year.
For the Geography element, the boys went down to the river to look at current flood levels and understand the River Thames over time, including seeing the extraordinary height that the river reached in flood in 1894!
The RS work centred on the church of St Leonard, where they had the chance to investigate the external building and the different elements that make up the interior, as well as visit the site of older churches that long disappeared around the town.
The boys' behaviour and attitude were exactly as we had hoped they would be, with numerous positive comments from the public.
