The Year 4 children of John Hampden School had the wonderful experience of being a Viking for the day. The children dressed in fabulous costumes, got to use a range of deadly weapons (foam based) and even took part in a terrifying raid.
The day started with a visit from Monk Athelstan. He told the children about the frightening day when his monastery on Lindisfarne was invaded by the Norsemen. He told them of how they rampaged through the village stealing, plundering and burning down homes. Monk Athelstan was then taken as a slave by the brute Ragnar Lothbrok. The children were then asked to write a diary about the events that occurred. The work they produced was incredible.
Following this, the children were then taught about the different weapons that would have been used during battle. They were shown how to use these and told how to create shield walls and battle formations in order to stay alive. Having learnt this, the children were than able to use this knowledge to go and raid the Year 3 classes. The Year 3 children were taken by surprise. Their school supplies were stolen and even some children were taken.
To finish the day, the children got a chance to battle with each other. Each child was to choose a weapon and use it to combat their enemy.
The day was a superb ‘educational’ experience and really brought learning to life. We would like to say a great big thank you to Mr Haigh for returning to school and becoming our Monk and also Mr Eyre on supplying the costumes, weapons and running a brilliant day.
