Bringing the future to the past – plans for hall after Victorian day success at Chapel Allerton Primary School
Three year 6 children (Una, Florence and Rachel) were reporters for the morning and have reported upon Chapel Allerton Primary School’s annual year 2 Victorian day plus their 150-year hall refurbishment ambition.
Here at Chapel Allerton Primary School, we believe a hands-on experience can advance a child’s understanding of a topic or learning objective. Therefore, one of our many experiences at our school is our Victorian day for our Year Two pupils.
At the beginning of the day, the excited children arrived in costume and were requested to bring a penny as they would have in the Victorian Era. They were then escorted to their seats in the Victorian classroom in the Large Hall (which was built in 1887.) The teachers had placed an image of Queen Victoria on the wall so the students could pay the same respect to the Queen as they had to in the Victorian Period. The pupils were then registered with their chosen Victorian names such as Laurence and Eliza and were checked for cleanliness. After they had cleaned their hands thoroughly and combed any untidy hair, they began their morning reading sessions. They recited Noah’s Ark and The Tower of Babel to influence a Victorian child’s respect for God.
Practicing singing was an important and common ritual for Victorian children so it was skilfully incorporated into the day. Now is the Month of Maying was sang as well as the National Anthem to demonstrate their Royal commitment. Later in the day, the children completed their exercise drills and proceeded to play classic Victorian games: Flap-a-Fish; Queenie, Queenie who’s got the ball; Oranges and Lemons and In and Out the Dusty Bluebells. In the afternoon, the children participated in many Victorian activities and hobbies like making peg dolls, washing clothes, sewing, drawing and Geography.
At the end of the day, we asked some pupils from Year Two to sum up their day in just one word, some suggestions were: Interesting, Fun and amazing, one year two even said “I really enjoyed the Victorian games especially Oranges & Lemons!” We also interviewed a Year Two teacher on her opinion of teaching Victorian Day she said, “It is amazing, and I love it because it teaches old – fashioned principles in a different manner.”
When talking to our headteacher Mr Sykes, he told us that he thought it was a great physical experience. And in his words, he believes our hall is truly Victorian which is why it’s such a great day and has been going for over twenty years. So, we can treasure this experience further our headteacher explained: “We would love to improve our hall by repainting and adding new wooden flooring and some tiered seating for both parents and pupils. We also desire a new sound system and modern windows. This will ensure our hall can be in prime condition for future years.”
To end this report, we are looking to the future to preserve the past.
Headteacher Mr Sykes added: “I think it really important to complement Una, Florence and Rachel on their reporting skills, it was a wonderful day and they have summed it up really well.”
To find out more about Chapel Allerton Primary School click here