Year 7’s two days of Culture

Alternatively known as Year 7's trip to the Globe Theatre and Hampton Court. After seeming to sit for quite a while on the M4, where the now infamous bus lane is no more, we finally arrived alongside the Thames where we saw a number of sites, including James Bond’s “offices”, the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament before crossing the river on Lambeth Bridge and heading to our drop off point near the Globe. Here, we demolished our packed lunches before heading into the theatre where our two guides who led the children around the exhibition met us and the theatre before we settled in to watch the afternoon performance of “Much Ado About Nothing”.

It was a change for the staff to watch an afternoon performance at the Globe as we usually see the evening performance, but a different atmosphere was very apparent. Interrupted occasionally by helicopters, or on one occasion a sneeze from someone in the audience, the actors just responded to the situation. In the midst of a tender love scene, Beatrice turned her eyes to the helicopter and said "Not now..." - the audience roared with appreciation. Although it takes a while to get tuned into the words of Shakespeare, gradually all the children were drawn in and became absorbed in the play. Beatrice and Benedict were brilliant, and the comic turn provided by Dogberry and his sidekick was well appreciated and the audience's roar of approval at the end summed up their appreciation of the performance

After leaving the theatre we headed to Passfield Hall at the LSE where we were to spend the night. Having been allocated our rooms we changed and came back to be dropped at St. Paul’s where we walked across the Millennium Bridge to our evening meal at Pizza Express right alongside the theatre. The children were very well behaved as we tucked into our pre-ordered pizza and ice cream, and the realisation that a large school group does not spell trouble for the restaurant staff paid dividends as the waiting staff warmed to the children.
Having enjoyed our meal we then caught the Thames clipper up to the Embankment. Watching the lights of London go by from the river was a different experience for many of us. Having been dropped off at the Embankment jetty, we entered the underground station where we caught the train back to Euston. For many this was their first time on the Underground and many thoroughly enjoyed this experience. And so to bed…. All were tired and most went quickly to sleep. After a great breakfast, we re-joined Lloyd on the coach to continue our scenic tour of London, going down the Strand, through Trafalgar Square past Downing Street and the government offices and the Houses of Parliament before turning to drive through South Kensington’s museum quarter and major shops such as Harrods on our way to Hampton Court.
Having picked up our sandwiches, we headed into the gates of Hampton Court – the Tudor approach is a really attractive entrance (though unfortunately a little spoilt on this occasion by scaffolding). Split into two groups, one going to the Clore Educational gallery for a lecture on the “Sport of Kings”, the others heading with Mr Maddock to the Young Henry exhibition. This shows a different Henry to the more formal portrait that all are used to. In his youth Henry was an athlete, and the country’s prestige was raised enormously as he took on and beat a much more powerful nation, the French, with the aid of the Emperor Maximilian. Getting right up close to the original pictures is superb, and the messages contained within the pictures becomes apparent when you realise that they are meant to tell a story, not just be a representation. The painting showing the Field of the Cloth of Gold is hugely detailed, and they have built a copy of the fountain from the picture in the courtyard. The original one flowed with wine – perhaps fortunately the modern one does not, though judging from the state of some in the picture perhaps they found a secret supply of wine. The children were helped to understand the background to the divorce from Catherine and the appearance on the scene of Anne Boleyn, before we moved into the Tudor apartments. A re-enactor playing Henry VIII interrupted our wanders and we enjoyed his audience with the group’s elected spokeswomen, Mistress Libby (A lesser known fact - the re-enactor who played Henry last year has lost so much weight from the heavy costume he had to wear that he has now been demoted to the King’s guard!). Throughout the tour, there is a huge amount of detail to spot, and the children were very good listeners, asking intelligent questions and showing off their knowledge. We examined the picture of Henry and discussed the image that he wanted to portray and compared it with the reality. We looked at the ideal family portrait, once the future Edward VI was born, and many had an idea as to why the portrait could not be true. These kings were ruthless, but then they probably had to be, or someone more powerful took the throne.
After lunch we went into the shops and looked at the Tudor kitchens. A clue to Henry’s size became apparent when we realised that in the kitchens, they roasted 2000 huge roasts a day. Some picked up the metal cauldrons or the sauce pans - or tried to. They are immensely heavy and these are empty. Image what they would be like full and hot! In reality though the requirements of cooking will not have changed immensely. The children could spot similar things to what they would have in the home – what did impress was the size of everything.
All in all, an excellent trip, with the weather favourable. The children were very well behaved; they listened well, were prepared to offer their own ideas and opinions and were a pleasure to take away.

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