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Vist to the Black Country Museum J1 Trip to Delamere Forest
Everyone was excited on the day of the J1 trip to Delamere Forest because we knew it was going to be good fun. No lessons, no uniform and lots of time outside to explore the forest and, best of all, the sun was shining. We went orienteering in the forest in groups of four. I was with my friends, Daniel, Robert B and Sebastian. Stella gave us a map with numbered points that we had to find in the forest. At each point we had to clip the paper to show we had found each point. I learnt about working together as a team and how to read a map. I enjoyed being in the forest and finding the points with my friends. The skipping rope was exciting as we had to run under the rope as it was swung by ourselves, then with a friend and then as a whole team. At the acid factory we were given six pieces of carpet which we had to place on the floor to work our way across to the other side without touching the ground. This was hard as there were seven in the team so two people had to go on one piece of carpet, which we had to keep moving so everyone could get across. We succeeded in less than two minutes and no one fell in! For the octopus legs, we were given two metal tubes, a piece of wood with seven pieces of rope attached to it and a ball. We all held a piece of rope and we had to lift the piece of wood up to the ball and transfer the ball and piece of wood to the second tube without it falling off. After a little bit of practice we succeeded. Exhausted, I fell onto the sofa when I got home. Excited still at bed-time, I could hardly sleep as I was so tired but wanted to talk about my day and told my Mum and Dad all about the wonderful, fun and brilliant day that I had had. Henry McKeever 1D J1 went to Delamere Forest on Thursday, 19th June, 2008 on a school trip. We travelled in a coach and it took us half an hour to get there. I had a packed lunch and my wellies with me in case it rained. It didn’t rain. It was a lovely, fine day. When we got there we met two nice people who showed us around. We were split into teams and we did some orienteering. Orienteering is reading a map and looking for treasure or places on the map. At first we did a treasure hunt, when we had to look for yellow squares and they had letters on them. Our teacher wrote them down on a sheet of paper where the number was and then, when we had found all the letters by reading our maps, it spelt ‘Badger Sett’. Thomas and Ben were in my team. The second part of the orienteering was going out into the woods. We had to find all the numbers written on the piece of paper that Badger Sett was spelt on and then stamp them. There was no treasure, though we did learn how to use a map. I really liked doing this. After we had eaten our lunch, it was time for the team building. My three favourite activities were the Acid Factory, the Swamp and the Log Skiing. In Log Skiing, we had to walk to the fence on some planks and had to walk back again. I did this with Thomas. In the Acid Factory, we had to pretend that the floor was made of acid and throw down six mats to get to the exit. I did this with my entire team. My team did it in the fastest time, which was fifty-nine seconds. In the swamp, it was exactly the same as the Acid Factory but the teacher was the Swamp Monster and you had to stand on the tiles and at the end, if there were any tiles left, the Swamp Monster got them. I really enjoyed going to Delamere Forest and joining in with all the activities and I hope we go there again. Huw Smith 1D Alastair Andrady 3A We went on Thursday the 8th May, to Speke Hall in Liverpool. On the coach, I sat next to Simon and Pranav. After about an hour’s drive, we arrived at this magnificent half wooden framed Tudor house, which is now owned by the National Trust. After a brief introduction, we were split into two groups. Our tour guide was Sarah, who works for the National Trust. Mr H also joined our group. We saw the garden first. It had the remains of the Moat borders which are now covered in manicured lawns with many colourful flower beds. There were many different trees but one large unusually bent over tree caught my eye. We were told that the house took 68 years to build. It is made out of wattle and daub. Wattle is wooden sticks and daub is cow dung. The Norris family first owned the house while it was being built. They also owned a lot of land surrounding the house; 2 miles North, 2 miles South, 2 miles East and 1½ West. Edward Norris died just before the house was finished. After the Norris family, the Beauclerks family and the Watts family lived there. We then entered through the front entrance of the house. We first saw the kitchen and then went to see Edward Norris’s bedroom. We walked through the grand hallway to a room with a hole in the wall. The person who lived in this room had used this hole to look through to check whether there were any strangers outside the house. This person shouted to the Catholic Priest who lived in the adjacent green room to hide when he saw any strangers. I looked through the hole and I could see as far as about 1½ miles! The green room had a cupboard which was used by the priest to go through to the ladder to climb up to a hiding space above his bedroom. This cupboard had a lot of pots and pans to disguise the passage which led to the ladder. The Priest probably laid there for 2 to 3 days in hiding. If he needed the toilet, he had to go to the pile of straw in the corner! We then had lunch outside on the lawn. The weather was very sunny and we all had a relaxing time. We heard and saw several planes passing over our heads. The Liverpool Airport was only a short distance away from the house. The coach journey back to school was tiring after our busy day but it was an enjoyable day out. Jack Owen 3A On Friday 9th May, a group of J3 students visited Speke Hall, a Tudor house in Liverpool. We set off by coach at 9.30 am and arrived 55 minutes later. On arrival we split into two groups and were given a tour of the outside of the building. The house belongs to the National Trust and is open to the public. The house was owned by the Norris family for many generations until the female heiress married into the Beauclerk family. Since the end of the 15th Century the building has been renovated and extended. The building is a wooden-framed style and is like many other Tudor buildings in that it has an oak frame on a base of red sandstone. The main beams of the house are made solid with small timbers and filled with wattle and daub. The glass windows cost so much money that when they went on holiday they would take out the glass and take it with them because there were so afraid of it being stolen! The Great Hall was the first part of the house to be built in 1530. The oak parlour was a section of the building which was added in 1531. The North Bay was added at this time too. Lots more changes were made and in 1598, the last and probably the most important change was made by Edward Norris when he added the North Range which was completed by him in 1598. We learnt why Edward Norris’s initials were hidden. After this there were only a few things added, a sandstone gate to the garden, and a porch from the great parlour in 1612. A laundry and dairy were added in around 1860, the laundry was changed in the 1950’s and is now used as a tea-room. I really enjoyed the gardens which dated from the 1850’s. In the garden we saw two yew trees which were called Adam and Eve and are believed to be between 500 and 1000 years old! After we had been in the gardens we toured the house. The kitchen was mainly Victorian and was in working order. I liked the jam making machine. In the Great Hall there were lots of oak panels and a huge fireplace. We were told how the Tudors said “Hello” and even learnt how to do a ‘Tudor Dance’! The house features a thunder box toilet and a priest hole in a bedroom. I really liked the priest hole as we could see where we came into the house. The hole was in a chimney in a bedroom to allow the person to see the approach to the house to warn the priest that people were coming. There was also an eavesdrop (a small open hole under the eaves of the house), which allowed a servant to listen in on the conversations of people waiting to come into the original front door. All the beds had curtains around as there were no corridors and you had to walk through each other’s bedrooms to get to yours! The curtains gave you some privacy when you were sleeping. It was a really good day out and I was impressed with how grand the building was, which lived up to the reputation of the Tudors being show offs!
Vendredi le 11 Avril At 5.30 am forty intrepid J3s and J4s and five brave teachers (Miss Anderson, Miss Hartley, Mr Griffin, Mr O’Neil and Mr Luck) set off from the King’s School by coach to France. We were all very sleepy, but even more excited! Our coach driver, Ian, said we would be stopping at 7 am at a service station for breakfast, and sure enough, at 7 am we stopped at Norton Canes Services on the M6 Toll Road. An hour later we were on our way again, and we continued as far as Bearsted Services in Kent, where we had another break. We then travelled on to the Port of Dover. After we had had our lunch on the coach, the coach drove onto the ferry, “Renoir”, and we were able to get off, and have a look around the ship. As we approached Calais, we could see the French coast quite clearly, and we all felt really excited! We boarded the coach again, and drove off the ferry…into France! On the way to our destination, we travelled through Boulogne. After about an hour, we arrived at the Le Pré Catalan, where we were staying. We were greeted by the staff, Ed, James, Amy and Kermit, who were very friendly, and we were shown around the centre. I shared a room with Emily Gregg, Olivia Morris and Sarah Landl. After we had unpacked, we had tea, and then we walked down to the nearby beach, accompanied by Amy and Ed, where we played Go Fish, a version of Bulldogs and rounders. I managed to score a rounder for my team! At about 9.15 pm we saw the sun set over the sea, and decided it was time to go back to the centre. We went to our rooms, where Miss Anderson gave us our diaries for the trip, and, exhausted, we fell into bed! It had been a very long day. Samedi le 12 Avril At 7.30 am Miss Hartley woke us up, and after a tasty breakfast of brioche rolls, cereal and juice, we set off with James from Le Pré Catalan to the Boulangerie Maillard, where we were shown how croissants and pains au chocolat are made. Mr Griffin translated what the boulanger was saying so that we could understand. It was mouth-watering, and we were delighted when we were given a croissant and a pain au chocolat each at the end of the visit. Afterwards we went to a nearby market, where we tried out our French to buy some presents from the various stalls, which included un fruitier (fruit stall), un confiseur (sweet stall) a cheese stall, a flower stall and a jam stall. I bought some bonbons. We all piled back onto the coach, and after lunch we travelled to Bowling de Boulogne, where we were split up into teams for bowling, which was fun. We then travelled on to the Nausicaa Sea Life Centre, which is the biggest in Europe. They had an amazing collection of sea life including sea-lions, fish, jellyfish, stingrays, sharks and penguins. We also watched a 3-D film about sea pollution, which was frighteningly realistic – I thought I was going to be eaten by a shark! Back at Le Pré Catalan, we had tea, and played badminton in the grounds of the house. We went to bed thinking about all the great things we had done that day, and excited about what was to come the next day. Dimanche le 13 Avril After breakfast we went to Etaples War Cemetery, where nearly 11,000 Commonwealth soldiers from the First World War and 119 Commonwealth soldiers from the Second World War are buried. It was such a contrast to the other fun activities that we had been doing, and I came away thinking what a dreadful thing war is, and I felt very sad. In complete contrast, we then went to Aqualud which is a huge water park in Le Touquet. Mr Luck and Mr O’Neil were brave enough to come in the water with us, and we had a great time flying down slides and chutes, including almost vertical drops and pitch-black tunnels with names like “The Black Hole”, “The Twister” and “The Magic River”. It was absolutely amazing and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. After lunch we went to Les Escargots du Bocage, a snail farm, where we were allowed to hold snails, (I named mine Cyril!), then we saw how they were cooked, and we were given the opportunity to taste them…which I declined! The nearest I came to eating a snail was eating a snail-shaped biscuit, which was tasty, if totally snail-free! We then went back to Le Pré Catalan and played outside until tea time, when we were treated to a traditional French meal which included coq au vin, snails and frogs’ legs. For dessert we had crêpes au chocolat, which were delicious. After our meal, we had a disco, where we all joined in (even the teachers!) with such timeless classics as Cha Cha Slide, The Macarena, and The YMCA. Unfortunately we then had to pack, in readiness for going home the next day. Lundi le 14 Avril After an early breakfast, we hauled our bags downstairs to be put on the coach, and said “au revoir” and “merci beaucoup” to the staff at the centre, who had given us a really good time. We travelled to the Chocolaterie de Beussent, where we were shown how chocolates are made for the Ritz Hotel in Paris. The chocolates looked delicious, and we all enjoyed our fee samples! We then travelled on to the Cité Europe, a huge hypermarket in Boulogne, where we had the chance to buy some last minute presents and souvenirs. We then boarded the coach, and drove to Calais, where we caught the ferry back to Dover, and after a stop for a meal on the M6 Service Station at Norton Canes, we arrived back at King’s at 9.30 pm, to be greeted by our parents, and Mr Malone. We all had a really great time in France, and owe the teachers who came with us a very big “thank you”, especially Miss Anderson for organising the trip. Katie Pownall 4G J2 visit to the Jorvik Centre in York
I woke up really early on Thursday because the coach left at half past seven. I was very excited and I sat next to my friends. We talked and had a play. First of all we went to ‘The Dig'. It was a very interesting place. Firstly, an archaeologist asked us questions about the Vikings. She gave us a trowel and we had to pretend to be an archaeologist. I dug up some coins and a horseshoe. After that we worked in pairs and looked at a box of bones and artefacts. Next we saw an antler and we were told that they made a comb out of them. Soon after that we all gathered on to some benches. Then we saw a short film about the past and what archaeologists do with what they dig up when they get to a museum. We were all very hungry so we went for lunch. In the afternoon, we set off for Jorvik on foot. When we got there all of us got into a time machine. It went back to Viking times. We opened the door and found ourselves in a Viking village. A carriage took us around the village. There were houses with cellars under them. Some houses were new, some were old, but all of them had a fireplace, weaving frame or large pots. There were people making things from leather, wood and metal. One stall had lots of food on it. Nearby some dogs were fighting over a bone. Another dog was chasing a cat on the street. There were quite a lot of people selling things like eggs and fur. Two children were playing some board games. In the bay, some seagulls were flying around the boats in the harbour. One seagull was sitting on top of a fish stall. After the carriage had stopped, we saw a Viking lady on a stall. She was making some chain mail and showed us what Vikings did with shells. Later, a Viking man showed us how to make coins and shoes. After that a professor in a white coat told us about a skeleton which had been in a battle and broken some of its bones and skull. Finally, we went to the shop. I decided not to buy anything and save my money. On the coach going home I thought about the brilliant day I'd had. Charles Smith 2A J1 visit to the Dewa Experience
The King's Junior School Mrs L. Dentith Dear Mrs Dentith, I am writing to tell you about the trip, on Tuesday 25th June, when J1 went to The Dewa Experience. When we got there we waited outside in our groups. We waited until a man in a Roman soldier's suit came out and told us to have our chests out, our chins up and our shoulders back. We were going to do a soldier walk saying left, left, left, right, left but in Latin which was sin, sin, sin, dex, sin. We walked down the road until we got to somewhere that looked like a park but it was the Roman walls. We then stood in a circle and practised fighting with a shield and an imaginary sword. After that we went to the amphitheatre and they told us about the animals that fought. Then they told us about the things that they said. When they thought the fighters did well they said “Magna” and when they thought they did badly they said “Iugular”. We then went to the museum and looked at lots of ancient Roman coins and patterns. Then we went into the hands-on room and there were lots of different games to play and put things on and touch. I put the Roman soldier armour on first and then I made patterns. After the ten minutes in the Museum we went into the shop. My friend Adam only had one pound so I lent him some of my money. When we had bought everything we wanted to buy we went outside and headed for the bus. It was a great day – thank you very much! Yours sincerely Zak Soutter J1D On 20th June, the whole of J2 had a trip to Wepre Park. That morning I got up feeling very excited. I jumped out of bed and quickly pulled my clothes on. I rushed to school hoping I wasn’t late. After a lot of organising, we were all ready to go. Everyone got on the Merediths bus and we set off. On the bus I was sitting with Sophie Drew and Alice Steele. When we arrived we were put into two groups, group one and group two. Miss Paul and Mrs Sharples were in group one and Mrs Peel was in group two.
First Kate (our team leader for the morning) gave us all a bag with a box, a clipboard with two worksheets on and a net. We walked to the bridge and studied how fast the water was flowing and described the river. After that, we had to do a test on our sheets in groups of five. It was then time to go to the top of the waterfall, where it was much more peaceful and calm. We started talking about where the river started to erode. After a few minutes it was time to move on. We arrived at a long stream that was flowing very fast. It was the moment we were all waiting for – to get in the river!!! We had lots of fun in the river and, after a while, it was time to do some experiments. We did the ping-pong ball test, where we had to drop the ball at one end of the river and see how long it took to get to the other end. We also did an experiment where we had to measure the water level and, my favourite of all, was catching the fish. We had to get a net and then do a dance on the rocks so that fish would come out from under them. It was finally time for lunch and we went out on to the playground grass to have it. After that it was time to start studying minibeasts with Martin. We all ran down a muddy hill into a big field. He told us to explore and tick off any minibeasts that we found. We then discussed minibeasts and their habitat. After a few minutes we walked over to a big wood. Martin told us that we had to put a big sheet under a tree and shake it so all the minibeasts fell off and we could see them clearly. As soon as we had shaken the tree very hard we found a shield bug, which has a hard back and very soft tummy. It was getting quite late so we decided to leave. I had a great time and it was a brilliant experience. Isabel Dawson On Wednesday, 2nd May, J3 went on an exciting trip round the walls of Chester and had a fun time. We got on the coach and it took us to near the Cathedral so that we could get into our groups for the tour. Once we were in our groups, Miss Sayers and her group led the way.
We all started in the northern direction of the Cathedral. Our first stop was at Kaleyards Gate. We answered the questions from our booklet and then got going again. Our next stop was really interesting because it was King Charles’s tower. This was where King Charles stood and saw his army being defeated in 1645! When we had finished looking and learning, we arrived at North Gate. We learnt some interesting facts and then we were off again. This time we went to St Martin’s Gate. A few of the girls felt a bit dizzy on top of the bridge with cars whizzing by underneath their feet. By this time it was getting quite hot so we quickly got moving and soon arrived at the Water Tower. It was a really nice place to be because there was lush, green grass and trees in blossom. To our disappointment we were soon off again to the Water Gate, which was rather like our last stop, so we were not there for long. The next stop was the racecourse. Unfortunately, there were no horses racing that day but it was still a very interesting stop. By this time our tummies were rumbling so we had a little bit of our snack! Next stop was the Grosvenor Bridge. We learnt that it was built during the nineteenth century. We then walked a bit to get to Bridge Gate. We saw the weir and the River Dee. We walked for a minute or two and then arrived at the Groves and saw ducks and some people pleasure-boating. The final stop was Eastgate. There were lots of shoppers there. We carried on walking until we finally arrived back at the Cathedral. Anna Longson and Megan Pode J3S Ski trip during February half term
Our Trip to Manchester Science and Industry Museum We arrived at school feeling excited but nervous because it was our first trip with King’s Chester. We were going to the Manchester Science and Industry Museum. The traffic was particularly heavy that morning but thanks to our bus driver we arrived at the museum at quarter to ten and went into our groups. I was in group two and we went to have a ‘Materials’ talk for the first hour. It was fun because we did lots of experiments, including identifying types of stone and shaking soil through holes which got smaller and smaller as they went down. After that we went to have our lunch. I had a lunch that my Mum had packed for me. Next we went to a gallery with trains in. A man showed us how a train worked and then let us look inside the engine room! There were lots of handles and switches and I think it must be quite difficult to drive a train. After that we went into a room with lots of interesting materials in. We compared wool, cotton and plastic and much more. Next we joined up with group one and went into a games room with lots of fun games. Whilst in there, every child got to go to the shop. I bought a bouncy eyeball and lots of sweets! Soon it was time to go back to King’s on the bus. We had a really great day. Special thanks to Mrs Rudd, Miss Evans, Mrs Kilner, Mrs Stearne, Mrs Smellie and Mrs Jones for taking us. Matthew Thompson Whole School Visit to Theatre Clwyd
As we sat down we were very surprised to see the characters running around on the stage and the aisles! They were all very welcoming and looked stunning in their costumes. Everyone cheered, hooted and hollered. As the lights dulled down the performance began. Meanwhile, in the city, Mr Beauregard and his three daughters: Vanity, Luxury and Beauty were getting ready to meet Vanity and Luxury’s boyfriends. They came in and following them was a messenger who said that Mr Beauregard had lost all of his money. In search of warmth he wandered into the beast’s castle. Inside he was given warmth, shelter, food and a bed. All he wanted was a rose, he took one but the beast was outraged. After a thorough shouting at he was allowed to keep the rose only if he returned, or one of his daughters returned. Beauty wandered into the beast’s castle. Her welcoming was the same as her father’s. Surprisingly though, Beast was much friendlier to Beauty than her father. He actually quite liked Beauty, but Beauty was not too fond of Beast. Beast wouldn’t give up though and he sent money to her father, clothes for Vanity and scents and oils for Luxury. By Tommy Metcalf J4G On Wednesday 6th November J4 went on a special Christmas trip to Chirk Castle. We went in two different sections, half of J4H and J4G went in the morning, and the other half of J4H and J4A went in the afternoon. It was a short, exciting journey on our way to Chirk, and when we arrived we were escorted by a lady called Susan. She escorted us through two arched doors. Then we were accompanied by a lady called Mrs Roberts (not our music teacher). She led us all up a spiral staircase into the servant’s quarters. There, we were shown what we would wear if we were servants at the castle. Cameron Thompson would have been a groom (wearing jodhpurs that were ten sizes too big), Ananth Ranjit wore a top hat with a velvet jacket, Harry Hollingsworth wore a big white shirt and long johns (he looked ridiculously handsome) and Matt Curtis wore a long, red undergarment. We were then shown how to make Victorian sweets and Peter the carpenter showed us how to make the boxes to put them in. We were also shown how to make Christmas decorations, and we learned about the decorations that the Victorians had. We then went back down to sing to Lady Middleton, the owner of the castle (in Victorian times). We all went home and thought that we had learnt something new about the Victorians. By George Hutchings and Cameron Thompson
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On the 7th December 2006, The King’s School Junior School went to Theatre Clwyd in Mold to see the Beauty and the Beast pantomime.