Medieval Tournament

Pupils in Zephaniah and Orwell classes took part in their first Wow Week of the year at the beginning of term. They learnt about the Norman Conquest of England through a mixture of activities both in and out of the classroom. The topic was brought to life with a Medieval tournament when the boys learnt battle skills such as archery, throwing of missiles, pool noodle jousting (hobby) horse-riding challenges and a contest to see which team could build the highest siege tower from cardboard. They also cooked and ate medieval biscuits.

As part of their learning Orwell class designed a medieval castle from Lego playing close attention to the improvement that the Normans made to ensure that enemies were kept at bay. They learnt about the Battle of Hastings and one of Orwell Class even made his own Norman shield in readiness for the tournament.

Zephaniah Class held a mock election to act as the Witan council and voted King Harold to the throne. They also wrote a screen play about the Battle of Hastings and worked together to devise an exciting and accurate script which was then acted out in a scene per day. Due to the adverse weather they were unable to film outside so the boys came up with really fun commercials and a Question Time style show called Kings Question Time to go with the film.

Both classes visited Lewes Castle for a real flavour of life in medieval times and to learn about Motte and Bailey Castles. They dressed up as Normans, saw some real-life artifacts and operated a Norman crane.

It was a fantastic way to start the new year and learn about this fascinating period of history through lots of fun, immersive activities.