An exciting day out to the Historic Dockyard for Year 7 pupils

Year 7 pupils were greeted by a huge ‘Ahoy there’ by the naval staff and guides during their trip to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

Pupils have been learning about the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the historically significant events during the ‘Battle of Trafalgar’. The activities which the children took part in throughout the day were organised to support this work.

The first stop was to board HMS Victory. After clambering up the gangway onto the former flagship of the Royal Navy, we were totally immersed in what life would have been like for the sailors and marines on-board the ship. Cramped conditions, mediocre food, lack of proper sanitation and the harsh realities of naval discipline were all brought to life through a mixture of guides and personal exploration. A highlight was to visit the spot where Nelson passed away near to the doctor’s surgery, and receive a talk exploring his life, death and subsequent glorification.

The Slavery through Objects Workshop was next of the list and it was fantastic to handle a variety replica and real objects from the period. There were many opportunities for discussion and to ask questions, with the children showing a great depth of knowledge about the period studied.

After enjoying a yummy, picnic style lunch each of the groups got to explore HMS Victory, the first ironclad warship built for the Royal Navy, Boathouse Number 4, which had lots of hands-on exhibitions and the Dockyards Apprentice Museum where shipbuilding was brought to life.

With great weather and so much to explore, a great day was had by all.
Mr Capozzoli.

Some quotes from the children:

"It was a great experience to see what it would be like to live and fight on HMS Victory and HMS Warrior. I certainly wouldn’t want to spend that amount of time on board, unless I was the Captain!" - Toby S

"I thoroughly enjoyed exploring both HMS Victory and HMS Warrior. It was so much fun to go back in time and experience what sailors and captains of that period would have felt. My most amazing moment was standing on the spot where Nelson died, an incredible piece of history!" - Thea G

"The workshop on slavery, was both interesting and enlightening. We were all fascinated by the artefacts that we were shown and it really gave us an insight into how the slaves were treated. To touch and witness the objects that affected the slaves so much was very eye-opening for us all." - Sophia A and Samantha H

Click here to see the photographs in our Flickr album