Victorians were brought to life by staff and children in year 5 at Westbury Junior School on Wednesday 4th June.
They held a ‘Victorian Day’ where both staff and children dressed up to experience a school day from the 1800s.
Surrounded by maps of the British Empire and some very strict school rules, the school hall was transformed and the children were dressed to represent the class differences of the time; from poor chimney sweeps to rich children of the local mills, complete with top hats!
The children gained first-hand experience of what the lessons would have been like with repetition of poetry and times tables aloud, handwriting practice, military drills and still life drawing – all delivered by several very stern teachers.
The day will be followed up with a walk around Westbury to visit buildings from the Victorian era such as The Laverton, Prospect Square, Bitham Mill, the Old Town Hall and Westbury Swimming Pool.
Despite the rather strict nature of the day, the children gained a lot from this. Class teacher Hannah Duffy said, “The children really enjoyed themselves. They put a lot of effort into their outfits and really got into character throughout the day. We did this as part of their history topic and it really helped to bring the subject alive and let them understand what a typical Victorian school day would have been like.”
