A brisk winter’s day did not dampen spirits of the Year 11 GCSE History students, who took part in two workshops at the Royal Armouries and Thackray Medical Museum in Leeds. Recapping all the topics students had covered in the first year of their GCSE study, students engaged in a surgery workshop (recounting all the gruesome detail of 18th and 19th century surgery) before taking a trip down “disease street” – a recreation of the sights, sounds and smells of a Victorian slum in Leeds. Finally, students took a tour round the museum to see the medical tools and artefacts of the past – to physically see just how far medicine has progressed.

The Royal Armouries held a workshop, where students were talked through the 3 key battles of 1066, whilst re-enacting them with shields in hand (Mr. Akhurst avidly took up a shield to join in the re-enactment). Finally students handled and tried on a range of replica artefacts and items from the time, trying to piece together what it might have been like for a Saxon or Norman in 1066.

Attached is a gallery of photos from the museum trip. Thank you to all involved and to the two museums in Leeds for hosting.