Last Friday, Year 4 had an exciting and enriching visit to the British Museum to support our History learning. This term, we have been exploring Ancient Britain with a particular focus on the Anglo-Saxons, and the trip offered a fantastic opportunity for the children to see this history come to life.

One of the highlights of the day was visiting the Sutton Hoo Burial exhibit. The children were thrilled to see the famous artefacts they had learnt about in class. Viewing the real objects—helmets, shields, jewellery and more—helped them connect their prior learning to real historical evidence. The sense of awe at seeing items over a thousand years old was wonderful to witness.

Across the Ancient Britain galleries, children took part in an artefact-finding challenge. They explored a range of rooms linked to Anglo-Saxon life and investigated items used in daily living, craft skills, and warfare. They discussed what the objects might have been used for and what they could tell us about life during this period. Their curiosity and thoughtful reasoning showed just how deeply they are engaging with our History curriculum.

We also extended our visit to the Ancient Egyptian galleries, where the children were captivated by the hieroglyphics, sculptures and sarcophagi on display. This experience gave them some exciting early insights ahead of our Ancient Egypt topic in the Spring term—sparking questions and enthusiasm before we’ve even begun!

The trip was a wonderful example of our History learning values in action:

• Be inspired – by remarkable artefacts and extraordinary civilisations.

• Be academic – by applying classroom learning to real historical evidence.

• Be reasoned – by thinking critically about how artefacts were used and what they reveal about the past.

We are incredibly proud of how Year 4 represented the school and how thoughtfully they engaged with the exhibits. It was a day full of discovery, excitement, and meaningful learning.