In the Autumn term, Year One launched themselves into medieval castle life by visiting Farleigh Hungerford Castle. It was a beautiful day when we arrived and there were few visitors at the castle so the girls had the freedom to explore all the ruins in search of signs to help them learn what it was like to live in a castle.

We looked for key parts of the castle, like the towers, the arrow slit windows, the kitchen and - of course - the long drop toilets! We were also able to walk around the outside of the castle in what used to be the moat. In the Chapel, the girls were intrigued by the stained glass windows and painted tombs. We also bravely descended the stairs to explore the crypt.

After a lovely picnic lunch in the sunshine, everybody tried on some clothes that would have been worn by a Lady or a Lady’s Maid in the medieval times. The girls found that they were quite uncomfortable and heavy to wear.

Finally, and most excitingly, we went on a treasure hunt to see if we could find any objects that might have belonged to people living in the castle a long time ago. Deep in the tower the girls discovered treasures like some coins, a piece of jewellery, a key and a wooden bowl. Everybody was very excited and we took the treasures back to the classroom to learn more about life in a castle.