Each year we have a number of visitors to the school.

Jump to a report on a visit by J2 Viking Day, Birdman, Rocket Man, Victorians 2007, J4 Macbeth workshop (2007), Animal Man, Judge Dutton, the Tudors.

J1 Ancient Greek Morning

Today was Ancient Greek morning for us (J1 students).  There was a lady and a gentleman, dressed as Ancient Greeks, who spoke about the history of Greece.  They introduced themselves as Petras and Pedros.

Petras started her talk by making cloth and she involved James (J1L) in making it along with her.  She showed us how the Greeks made cloth.

Then Pedros told a myth about how Theseus (son of King Aegeus) killed the minotaur (half bull and half human).

Pedros, then showed us how to make a Greek salad.  He involved Miles, Thomas, Ruhi, Huw, Stephen and Max.

Next, Pedros and Petras talked about the great Trojan War (Troy).  They spoke about why and how the war was fought.  I had to act as a soldier hiding in the Trojan horse.

They also talked about Ancient Greek doctors and their duties towards their people.

Petras spoke about the Greek buildings, temples, halls and market places.  She also told us why the Greeks painted their homes white.  She gave a detailed description about the agora, which was a huge supermarket.  She told us it was so huge that we could play inside.

Then, Pedros talked about the Greeks’ interest in fishing.  Fish was their main food.

He also described the city of Sparta, which had strong and powerful soldiers.  He told us how Athens was named after the goddess, Athena, and her temple of the Parthenon.  He also told us about other gods and goddesses, like Apollo and Aphrodite.

Later they also spoke about Greek sport.  The Olympic Games started in Ancient Greece for the first time at Olympia.  It was celebrated with great pomp and show.

Finally, they gave a detailed description of Greek pottery, drawing, painting and sculptures.

History is one of my favourite subjects.  Ancient Greece is an interesting topic.  So, the Ancient Greek morning was a great experience for me.  I could understand and learn more about Ancient Greece and its people.  Petras and Pedros made it very entertaining and enjoyable by involving us in the discussion.  It was very good.

Rahul Pradeep J1L

J2 Viking Day

On 21st January J2 had a Viking day when three people came to King’s to tell us all about Viking life.  Their names were Elin, Rowen and Callum.

First of all we got into a line and one by one we put on an old Viking tunic because we were going to act like the Vikings for the rest of the day.  Then we were divided into our classes and were sent off to do an activity.  The group I was in did weaving.  Elin told us some interesting weaving facts, including Viking women wove all the time.  She then gave us two sticks with thread on them and a ball of wool and we tried to weave like Vikings.  We had to find the end of the wool and put it over one of the sticks and bring it back down again.  Then we had to do the same over the other stick.  It was very complicated especially as I had never done it before.

Next we had a quick lunch and then we went to look at Viking outdoor life, which was with Callum.  First he showed us three animal skins, they were wild boar, deer and beaver, they were all very soft.  Then he showed us some arrows, including one called Bodkin, which was specialised for going through an enemy’s helmet.  He then showed us how to fire an arrow; he could fire an arrow a long way!  When he had fetched the arrows back he let a few people fire an arrow but unfortunately I didn’t get a go.

After that we went back inside and Rowen showed us some spices.  She had pepper, nutmeg, salt and many more.  She let us all sniff them and then we went inside a Viking tent.  Inside were many animal skins including sheep, cow and horse skins.  She told us how the Vikings caught animals and shot them with some of the arrows that we had recently seen.  Next we came out of the tent and went over to a millstone where we started to make some flour.  We put some corn into and on top of a hole.  Then we turned the top stone around and the corn went into the hole and was ground into flour.  They would use this flour to make things like bread.

Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye and thank you after this because we had run out of time.  We had a great day!

Matt Thompson and Zak Soutter J2D

Visit from the Birdman (from the Welsh Birds of Prey Centre)

view an album of photos

We all went into the Consterdine Hall.  We saw lots of birds of prey.  We also saw the ‘birds of prey man’.  His name was Mike Wakeman.  Then it started:

He told us lots of facts about birds.  One of the facts was that the Peregrine Falcon can swoop at 250 miles per hour! 

Then the teachers picked some lucky boys and girls.  The bird we had to hold was an Eagle Owl!  The owl was very heavy!  I (Oliver) got to hold the owl in our class. 

We really enjoyed the afternoon but soon it was home time.

Oliver Bureau and Henry McEntyre J1R

J2 Rocket Man

J4 Victorian Morning 2007

On Monday 12th March, Mr Davies and Mrs Davies came in to show us what it was like to be a Victorian and how they used to do the washing, cooking and cleaning etc. First of all they told us what it was like and what you would get paid if you worked in a big Victorian house. Mrs Davies told us that in the evening we would eat jam on bread and if the children were very lucky they would get buttermilk to drink.

Then Lucy Grindal and Nia Hughes came up to make some dough for bread. The container that it went in had ridges in it so that when it came out of the oven it was easy to cut into slices. In Victorian times they sometimes used plant pots to make some bread as well as the tins. Once Lucy and Nia had made the dough and put it into the tins and the plant pot, Mrs Davies put it in the oven. Then some boys had been naughty so they had to be punished by Mr Davies. Matthew Anthony, Craig Evans and Matthew McClelland weren’t sitting up so they had to sit on the floor with a cane down their back to teach them to sit up straight. Laura Johnston had to sit in the naughty chair because she was smiling. As Mr Davies was putting the canes in the boys’ shirts, Oliver Matthews stood up and ran around trying to escape! Mr Davies caught him in the end and gave him twenty strokes with the cane. But after five strokes Oliver still wasn’t crying! Mr Davies found out that it wasn’t hurting him because he had hidden a book behind his blazer and in his pants!

Mrs Davies put some milk in a clear jar and sent it around the room and everyone shook it. While that was going on, Mrs Davies wanted to make some jam, so Georgina Clarke came up and Mrs Davies put on an apron and a bonnet to keep her hair out of the way. Mrs Davies put a lot of raspberries and a lot of sugar into a big bowl over a hot stove to melt and go gloopy. Georgina was stirring it. Then the jar came back and there was a big blob of butter along with some buttermilk. Mrs Davies took the butter out and put it on a plate. Mr Davies then poured the buttermilk into four little goblets and Ananth Ranjit, Craig Evans, Cameron Szerdy and Robert Jones got to drink the buttermilk. Once they had drunk it the jam was ready. Mrs Davies then put the jam on a plate in equal dollops next to the butter.

Mr Davies showed us how you would polish in the Victorian times. Mr Davies then chose six people to polish something; they were Eleanor Barnard, William Garside, Matthew Curtis, Alex Kerr, Alex Kent and Tommy Metcalf. To polish they had to rub a rag into polish and rub everywhere so that it looked misty, then they had to get the polishing cloth and wipe the polish off so that you could see clearly into it. Only William Garside’s and Matthew Curtis’s were complemented!

Amelia Barry was called up to have a go at washing the floor… Victorian style! She had to dip a scrubbing brush into some soapy water and scrub back and to, once Mrs Davies had approved, she went back and sat down. Then Mr Davies brought the mangle over and Mrs Davies got two towels and put them in a tub filled with water. Sam Reeves and Edward Russell washed the towels in the tub. We then got the towels and slid them in the mangle. Edward Russell and Sam Reeves turned the handle and most of the water got squeezed out of the wet towel.

By then the bread was ready and Mrs Davies got the bread out of the moulds and cut it up into many pieces. Then Mr Davies told us we would wear shoes called clogs, they had wooden soles. Apparently they would hurt almost every step. He borrowed Laura Johnston’s shoe to mime a demonstration of a blacksmith at work! Mr and Mrs Davies then showed us a Victorian lemonade bottle. Because they didn’t have metal caps then, a marble blocked the top of the bottle so that the lemonade inside wouldn’t go flat. When you wanted to drink from it you turned the bottle and the marble got wedged in a ridge. Therefore the lemonade could come out easily.

We thoroughly enjoyed the morning and learned a lot about the Victorians.

Urbi Sen and Alec Davies J4A

J4 Macbeth Workshop

It was a frightfully cold day and we three witches wandered down, having been upon the heath, towards the King’s School, hoping to find some ingredients for our potion. When we arrived at least 37 children were gathered in, what seemed to be, a small hall, so we watched to see what they were doing. They were being taught, by Mrs Emma Hands, all about the first act from Macbeth, we were surprised to hear his name, having just seen him, so we decided to stay a while longer. They started off doing some warm ups such as tongue twisters and copying what the teacher did, we thought that the children were listening intently and enjoying the workshop. We began to make the potion but we still needed the final ingredients, human hair. We knew where to get it but we did not know how, so we cooked up a plan to get what we wanted.

They then began to walk around the hall, trying to create atmosphere, they did peculiar actions and they kept on looking about them, as if trying to see if someone was chasing them. We watched and waited, waiting for the moment that we three witches would strike. The children sat down again, Mrs Hands told them to close their eyes and think about a field with long grass and sun shining down upon them. She turned on some classical music and they began to walk around again, we thought that this was a perfect time to make our entry, so we crept in and hid behind a giant climbing frame.

Then they started to point at various objects around the hall and three of them pointed at the climbing frame, which we were hiding behind. We thought that they were pretending to be from another planet and had never been to earth before, so we stayed back in the shadows. Luckily they did not notice and walked away before anything got out of hand. They showed the teacher what they had found and they said that the climbing frame might be a space ship, we had never heard of such a thing and we were curious of what it was.

Then they pretended to be Macbeth and, by the looks of it, they had just been told by Lady Macbeth that they should murder King Duncan but they do not know if they should do it and they were pacing round the garden, but we knew that they would kill the King. They pretended to enter the chamber and kill Duncan, and then they started to do movements to show that they wished they had not done what they did. Then they looked at sheets that had the very words we had spoken only an hour ago, and recited them. Mrs Hands told them to put objects in a pretend cauldron and they then started to stir it in and drink the mixture.

Then two children came up and pretended to be Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, they said a speech that seemed vaguely familiar. Then several children left the room and we followed them but they disappeared and others began to emerge from the hall so we decided to look elsewhere.

Hermione Bird and Ananth Ranjit, J4A

The Animal Man

On Friday the 9th March we got a visit from the animal man. First he showed us a frog. It had green coloured skin and it was damp. It felt like a wet cushion because it was squidgy. Then he taught us facts like it could only jump an inch. Later he showed us a corn snake. It was hard and flexible. Then he taught us loads of facts like it sheds skin every two weeks. After, he showed us a chinchilla. It was really soft and fluffy. Someone could easily mistake it because it was so soft and fluffy. But later he told us a terrible fact about Madonna wearing a Chinchilla coat just that week. Later he showed us a kestrel. It was really interesting because it is the only bird which properly hovers. Then we spent about five minutes asking questions. We thanked him a few times and then he left.

Oliver Ainsworth, J3S

Visit of Judge Dutton

On Thursday 22nd February, Judge Dutton paid a visit to J4.  We all knew that this was going to be a really interesting visit!

Judge Dutton started telling us a little bit about his judging career and his personal life.  He started his career as a barrister working at Chester Magistrates’ Court for twenty-five years.  He then moved up a rank and became a judge.  He has been a judge for over ten years now, still working in Chester Magistrates’ Court.  He has had to deal with some cases in Chester Crown Court.  He has dealt with some very interesting cases and he told us about some of these.  He told us about a ninety-one year old who got a speeding ticket and about a thirteen year old who burnt down his school.  He has had to deal with many other cases but they had to wait.

Judge Dutton told us about what he had to wear.  He showed us a long, black robe which had a white collar, which he was able to take off.  He had two sashes, one purple one for civil offence and one red one for criminal offence.  When he was a barrister he wore a small wig, which he kept in a tin with his name on.  Now he is a judge he wears a larger wig which is kept in a similar tin, also with his name on.  He also has to wear black trousers with smart black shoes.  Miss Arkle kindly modelled his clothes for us!

We were really lucky to have such an interesting and educational visit from Judge Dutton.  We learnt a lot from him and we hope to see him again (hopefully not in court!).  We all hoped the visit of Judge Dutton would be one we would never forget!

Arjunan Ranjit and Cameron Szerdy 4A

The Tudor Morning

Viewan album of photos

Mr and Mrs Davies kindly brought to us a Tudor morning set with wonderful costumes and props. Mr Davies was Henry VIII and Mrs Davies was a maid. People were chosen to be the six wives of Henry, the Pope and someone to be Edward VI. In the role of Henry VIII, Mr Davies proposed to each of the girls in turn and this made the year group all laugh. The girls said yes, and they were married. His wives suffered the following fates: divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. This was acted out to us. Then Mr and Mrs Davies told us about Shakespeare in Tudor times and his plays. As women weren’t allowed to act in the olden days, two boys played the parts of Romeo and Juliet and did a scene of the famous Shakespeare masterpiece.

We were told more about life in Tudor times. People were chosen to write on a piece of parchment with a quill and some others came up to chop some vegetables for the pottage we were making. Olivia Bradley was chosen to help Mrs Davies make some bread. She had to dress up like a maid too as this was a servant’s responsibility. Three more people were chosen to do brass rubbings; this was also a servant’s job in Tudor times. Alex Watts and Andrew Brown were chosen to make Wattle and Daub with water, pig’s blood, cow manure and straw. Mr Davies and Alex Watts then pretended to go hunting with Edward VI. Alex Watts was put in the stocks as a punishment for stealing a rabbit. The Tudor morning was fascinating and I would like to thank Mr and Mrs Davies for the fantastic morning.

Elliot Horsburgh, J3S

If for any reason you can't find what you are looking for, have a look in our alphabetical list, or contact us on the following e-mail: info@kingschester.co.uk