The Federation visits London
At the end of March, children in Year 3 and 4 across the federation enjoyed an action packed residential trip to London. The first stop on their adventure was at the British Museum where they primarily visited the Egyptian Rooms to support recent work in history. The children were particularly captivated by the mummies and the process of mummification. They also enjoyed participating in many of the workshops scattered around the museum that enabled them to handle a variety of historical artefacts.
Next was a trip to the Rainforest Cafe to refuel with a hearty dinner before heading off to the Apollo Theatre to see Wicked! The musical was brilliant with stunning stage sets and effects; it certainly kept the children sat on the edge of their seats throughout.
The night ended with a short drive to Docklands where the children stayed in a hotel adjacent to the Excel Centre – they were fascinated by the high level of police presence given the imminent arrival of Barack Obama for the G20 Conference!!
The following day the children tucked into a substantial breakfast before travelling to Westminster where they would have a tour of the Houses of Parliament. Traffic in London was unusually sparse because of the planned demonstrations to coincide with the G20 so they arrived rather early, which enabled them to enjoy a beautiful spring morning walk along the embankment of the River Thames.
On their arrival at the Houses of Parliament the children passed through security before being taken to the Education Centre where they participated in workshop about Guy Fawkes. They also met Nick Harvey, who talked to them about his role in Parliament and work within his constituency. Following this they were met by a guide who took them into Portcullis House in order to start their tour of Westminster Palace. It was here that Gordon Brown emerged on his way to Prime Minister’s Question Time. As he walked towards the children he waved and then stopped to chat with them briefly, asking them where they had come from and what they thought of Portcullis House. The children were somewhat taken aback by this impromptu addition to their schedule but it is sure to be a meeting that they will always remember, especially given the political enormity of the day. Most of the children were quite impressed that Gordon Brown had just had breakfast with Barak Obama!! The tour of the Palace of Westminster continued with the children walking past the Robbing Room, through the Royal Gallery and then into the Chambers of the House of Lords. Here the children had an opportunity to see the Throne on which the Queen sits during the State Opening of Parliament. They then passed into the Central Lobby before concluding their tour in Westminster Hall.
The residential visit was concluded with a flight on the London Eye during which the children were able to pin-point many of the landmarks that they had passed during their stay in London. They were certainly blessed with wonderful weather which enabled them to enjoy spectacular views across the city.
This is the third time that children from the federation have enjoyed a residential visit to London. It is certainly quite a brave undertaking, but as a federation we believe that it is a vital experience that broadens the horizons of our children and exposes them to the diverse society within which we live. For many of the children it was their first visit to our capital city and hopefully it is a memory that they will hold dear for many years to come.