This has been an exciting year in the history department with successful trips for Yrs 7, 8 and 9 with a rising number of students choosing to study the subject at GCSE and A level.

Yr 7 enjoyed their annual outing to Bodiam Castle, where once again the clouds parted and the sun shone. This trip built on the work undertaken by the students over the course of the year, the highlight of which is the annual Motte and Bailey Castle building competition. For the first time, this formed part of the House Activities Cup and the standard was, as ever, excellent. Kathleen Henrick won the competition

Once again, Yr 8 went to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in March. This trip forms the basis for their coursework on the Mary Rose. October saw another successful trip to Ypres in Belgium where Helen Foss had the honour of reading in front of thousands of onlookers at the Menin Gate. The aim of our trips is to allow students to see that history can be learnt outside the classroom and to maximise their enjoyment of a subject that can, unfairly, sometimes be seen as a little ‘old’!

Without the help of colleagues, school trips would not be possible and we would like to extend our thanks to all those who gave their time.

Ed Hutchinson