Bannockburn and Stirling Castle

Primary 6 went on an AMAZING trip to Bannockburn and Stirling Castle yesterday.  At Bannockburn there was a lot of really cool things to do : you could explore the battle by looking at the 3D giant screens, we could touch the weapons and armour, and we could interact with digital people who were part of the battle. The Chiltern spears were 12 -15 feet tall. The chain mail was really heavy. We then went into the battle room where we split into the Scottish army and the English army. We then plotted the battle on an interactive map. On this occasion, England won the battle through the use of our strategic commanders. It was named the Battle of the Bowling Club, as that is the building on that piece of land now. The map could change from present day to the landscape of 1314. We also took a walk to the Rotunda and saw the famous statue of Robert the Bruce.

A short journey away and we arrived at Stirling Castle where we spotted another statue of Robert the Bruce and we could see the Wallace Monument in the distance. We were amazed at how narrow the River Forth is at Stirling. We explored a room with a Scottish history timeline and recognised many events from our studies. We then explored the chapel where Mary, Queen of Scots had her coronation as a baby. Next stop was to the Great Hall where we sat on thrones which also incorporated a potty !! We then popped into the Palace and admired the famous Stirling Heads before spending time in the Queen’s Bed Chamber. The Palace staff told us about the history of the Castle and were really funny.

We enjoyed this trip and would highly recommend it to other primary schools.

 

Arctic Return Presentation

Mr Smith came into school to tell us all about an Arctic adventure that he is going on in March. He showed us all the equipment he will be using and even let us taste some of the dehydrated food that he will be eating on his expedition.

He explained that he has been training for the expedition by pulling tyres to build up his strength. He will be taking the same route as a historic Arctic explorer called John Rae, who was also Scottish. He allowed us to try out his clothing and equipment for the trip. His clothing will prevent him from getting frostbite as the temperatures will be minus 30 to minus 50 degrees ! There is also a risk from hungry Polar Bears so Mr Smith will use an electric fence to keep his tent safe at night. We learned LOTS of interesting facts and look forward to seeing his route progress online and he will try to contact us via satellite whilst on his expedition. Primary 6 will design a St Nicholas flag that he will leave in the Arctic Circle.

Good luck Mr Smith!