Having the discovery visit here actually on the site where the battle took place is
such a privilege. They get the feeling of what it might have been like back on the day.
I booked a discovery visit because I think it's important for the children to
actually live the history. Chalk and talk is great for certain things but actually
living it and standing where a battle took place actually brings it home to
the children in a huge way... makes my life much easier.
We get them dressed up, doing a bit of the costume and talking about what happened
at the run up of the Battle of Hastings and then we look at the weapons, which is
wonderful as you take that cloth off of the table and it's [gasp]...wonderful stuff.
We take them to the terrace where we're actually overlooking the battlefield
and we describe in some detail what it might have felt like for the soldiers going
out onto that field.
We're at Battle Abbey and we've been learning about the Battle of Hastings.
I think it's nice to be in the same place that the event
happened because you learn more about it.
I think my favourite thing was trying on
the helmet even though it got caught on my hair it was really fun. I learnt that to
be in the Norman army you have to be able to hold your armour above your head in
one hand otherwise you're not strong enough to join it.
I liked re-enacting the battle because it was fun to pretend to be battling and
it was just really fun, I just really liked it.
As a teacher there's nothing better than having an expert teach your children and they're brilliant here.
Their enthusiasm and their excitement really brings it all to life
for the children, taking part doing the battles
it just helps them remember this really important key part of history.
It's worth a visit every time.