Last Thursday Years 1, 2 and 3 had a trip into Colchester on a double decker bus! We looked at the castle and the war memorial before setting off down Colchester High Street in search of more towers, turrets and heroes. Along the way we absorbed the sights, sounds and smells of the busy town. It was an exciting way to start all of our themes for this term.
Year 1 are investigating the topic ‘Bright lights, big city’ which looks at the features of different settlements and compares the differences between the town and the country. A walk down Colchester High street spying the different buildings and their functions was an exciting and stimulating start to this subject.
Year 2 are exploring the topic ‘Towers, Tunnels and Turrets’, including castles, their purposes, how they were built and comparing different styles. The children investigated the outside of the castle completing some activities to help the topic spring to life, then they were encouraged to compare their castle experience with the wonderful palace in Aladdin and investigate how the set designers have highlighted the features of the palace for the stage show.
Year 3 are learning about ‘Heroes and Villains’ and exploring the characteristics of characters in those roles in stories and plays, so a trip to Aladdin was a wondrous and exciting start to this topic. Jafar is one of the ultimate villains and Aladdin the perfect hero who saves the day. Prior to the pantomime, they investigated the statues in Colchester by Castle Park and on the Town Hall building to see what they reveal about the historical local heroes of our town.
Then it was time for the pantomime, Aladdin! We were all very excited finding our seats, then the lights went down and the performance started. And what a wonderful, colourful and funny experience it was.
“My favourite part was going on the bus – on the top layer” William
“I liked the stick fight and when Fabracadabra fell into the crocodile pit but came out good!” Leo
“I liked it when Aladdin was locked in the cave and he found the lamp and we told him to rub it and the genie appeared!” Mollie
“My favourite part was when Aladdin climbed up the wall and sat on the top!” Giles
Categories: News Phase 2 Trips Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
