Humanities

It has been incursion season in Humanities this term! As part of their unit on Ancient Greece, the Year 7s had a visit from the Hellenic Museum. The very generous staff at the education section of the museum usually only host students for on-site excursions, but for the second year have been kind enough to bring their Heroes and Hoplites and Ancient Board Games sessions out to us. 

Students had the opportunity to hold artefacts which were thousands of years old, try different ancient hoplite helmets and even dress up as a warrior. Students then practiced marching in phalanx formation, complete with cardboard shields and pool noodles. Following this, the students had a Games session, learning and playing the ancient games Senet (from Egypt) and Petteia (from Greece), which are based on military strategy. The boards were hand made by one of the museum presenters. Plenty of students wanted to keep playing through lunchtime! 

The Year 8s were treated to a full day of Medieval games and activities, switching between six different workshops. Archery seemed to be the most popular, with many students excitedly reporting how well they performed with their shots. Tournament was also a hit, with students learning about weapons and fighting techniques and taking on a fully equipped medieval knight! The Medieval Dance and Education and Games workshops saw students on their feet all session learning dances and the equivalent of schoolyard games from the time together. Students were also able to dress up in medieval armor and encounter unusual medieval punishments. Many commented on how the activities brought the period to life and helped them understand medieval society. 

Next term, the Year 7s start their Civics unit, the Year 8s move across to Medieval Japan and CESA paragraph writing and the Year 9s will be learning about sustainable tourism in Geography.