Year 5 Tudor Day brings the facts to life

Homemade coins? Real swords? Impossible Tudor games? Year 5 had the chance to get involved with all these things – and more – during a Tudor workshop this week.

Berkhamsted Prep welcomed representatives from ReachOut Educate to deliver an immersive experience where pupils could explore a range of Tudor artefacts. Before the activities began, pupils were asked what they knew about the Tudor period already. As it turns out, they knew quite a lot! Pupils demonstrated an impressive array of knowledge about the period: “The Tudor period began when Henry VIII beat Richard III in the Battle of Bosworth Field”, one pupil responded. Others spoke about Henry’s six wives, his love of sport as a young man, and his dissolution of the Monastries.

Our pupils clearly knew the facts, but there’s nothing quite like putting yourself in the shoes of historical figures. At four different stations, pupils could interact with a variety of items from the Tudor period to really get a feel for what life was like. One table sported a selection of ‘daily life’ artefacts which included jewellery, scroll holders, lyres and some surprisingly difficult hoop throwing games. At another station, pupils tried their hand at writing with quills and ink.

Perhaps the most popular station, however, was the intriguing ‘danger table’. Under careful supervision, pupils could try on Tudor armour, hold guns, and handle swords. This was a thrilling opportunity for pupils to imagine themselves in some of the famous historical battles they have been learning about – although perhaps with slightly smaller helmets!

Finally, pupils were delighted to watch a blank piece of silver transform into a Tudor coin, complete with the crest of Henry VIII. With one swift blow of a hammer the crest was imprinted onto the blank, leaving pupils in awe of the transformation. Everyone was given an imprinted coin to take home as a memory of the day.

Thank you to ReachOut Educate for bringing history to life for our Year 5s. When asked what their favourite part of the workshop was, the most common answer was “all of it!”