Hampton Court Palace

Lower KS2 visited Hampton Court on Wednesday, 18th April (Elephant and Giraffe Class) and Thursday, 19th April (Monkey Class). The outing formed part of our Creative Curriculum topic, Kings and Queens, and the purpose of the visit was to explore what a royal building looks like and learn what life was like for Kings and Queens in history.

Both days were gloriously warm sunshine days and pupils were in good spirits, ready to learn. As we entered the Palace pupils were really shocked to see the size of the building - it was lovely to see the pupils noticing and looking around the huge building and large rooms, and highlighting the differences between our homes, and those of royalty. Pupils discussed how the rooms smelt different; they smelt mouldy and old, and the walls were covered with what looked like carpets, not like our walls that are usually painted or covered with wallpaper!

We saw a crown and looked at it closely so that we could make our own crowns at school. We visited the large main hall and learnt that it was bad manners to loosen your belt during a meal if you had too much too eat! The pupils often asked for a Queen and hoped that they would get to meet the Queen which would have truly absorbed us all in the topic! To conclude a wonderful day, we enjoyed a lovely picnic in the palace gardens whilst enjoying the sun.

The trip was a fun and an enriching experience for all. It has helped us to immerse our-selves into the topic and feel ready to learn more about Kings and Queens in the coming weeks.