Roman Holiday

Our 9s pupils enjoyed a two-night stay on a residential trip to Ufton Court where they were transported back in time to Ancient Rome and enjoyed all things Roman. 

The children enjoyed two days of learning all about Roman life by participating in fun activities and workshops. Divided into groups, their first activity involved becoming Roman soldiers and learning about military manoeuvres like forming a shield wall to keep the enemy out. They reenacted a battle that didn't go well so they had to make an 'orb' (a defensive position in the shape of a circle) to protect their senator! They also huddled together in a 'tortoise' to keep one another safe from attack. 

Military training was followed by the chance to practise augury. On a trail around the grounds, the children examined the behaviour of the birds to interpret omens. The direction of a bird's flight or the number of birds spotted (odd versus even) were all analysed to predict either favourable or unfavourable outcomes! The exercise gave them a better understanding of what the Romans believed in and how superstitious they were.

 

Later on, they learnt about what Romans did for leisure and how they were inspired and entertained. They played ball, dice and board games and acted out the Roman legend Romulus and Remus. This was followed by a ghost story and night walk to celebrate Halloween, a definite highlight for Kitty (9JSA) who says, 'when we were in the woods, they told us a spooky ghost story about a family who went missing at Ufton Court centuries ago and if you listen carefully enough you can still hear the children whispering. It made the history of the place really come alive! '

The next day, everyone took part in an archery workshop to see if they had the skills to be transferred into the Sagitarri army. 'It was great fun trying to aim but the Romans didn't just use a bow and arrow for battle, they used it for survival by hunting animals, ' says Athena (9KFI) who explains that they also got the chance to shoot at styrofoam animals. This was followed by an archery competition to hit the bullseye and win the whole group an extra delicious dessert. Needless to say, with such high stakes, there were several children who succeeded!

They watched a demonstration on brazier baking and learnt how to make bread and then how to cook it on an open fire with sticks. The children also learnt the arts of carding wool and willow-weaving, key skills needed to support life in Roman times, and also made a sword out of willow branches to take away with them.

Despite understanding how life was much harder in ancient times, Arabella (9JGL) is still able to appreciate how the Romans had fun with their banquets, legend-telling, plays and games. 'Living like Ancient Romans for two days showed us how much harder everything was for them but how much fun they had too!'

On the last evening everyone wore Roman attire for a pre-battle banquet. 'I loved the way we were given pretend wine (fizzy grape juice!) at the banquet and how all our teachers dressed up as emperors,' says Reuben (9KFI). 'We waited to see who would be asked to serve them and who would receive the honour of receiving a piece of cake from their table!' 

On the final morning, all the children had the chance to put their military training into practice as they reenacted Boudicca's revolt. They also learnt a Roman dance before having a picnic lunch and setting off back home.

A special thanks to Kathryn Field, 9s Form Teacher and Humanities/English teacher, who organised the trip. ' As a History teacher too, I felt this trip was a great opportunity to bring the subject to life with lots of fun, hands-on learning, and I am very grateful to Kathryn for organising it,' Head of Lower Prep Clair Foster says.