Year Five set sail on an exciting adventure at sea from Victorian London to China. This all took place aboard a unique setting on their school trip to ‘The Cutty Sark‘ – one of the last surviving clipper ships. The school trip was linked to their History topic of ‘The Victorian Era‘. They used maps, handled objects and read real-life letters from an apprentice who had sailed on a Victorian ship and kept a diary. They found out what life was like for merchant sailors in Victorian times. Here they are in action.
The National Curriculum requires pupils to study an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066. In this case, Y5 covered the Victorian Era (1820 – 1914).
Did you know that the Cutty Sark was a tea clipper – which means that it was a ship built for extreme speed and streamlined ocean wayfaring, in order to transport tea across the seas? Do you know where the tea came from?
After lunch, we set off to the National Maritime Museum. Although ‘Ahoy Sailor’ section was closed off due to roof works, there was still a lot more to explore. Sailors often kept souvenirs, to remind them of their journey or to give to loved ones. It could have been something they made, an interesting object from a far-away place, or even part of the ship! We set off on our own expedition. During our exploration, we noted down things we would have taken home, food we would have eaten or hated, found items that would have helped us do our job as a Victorian sailor and found things we would have played with or done during our spare time. They didn’t have the internet of PS5s then! Can you imagine life without your devices?
