History Trip

On 18 November, LE (Year 9) historians visited the Imperial War Museum in London to explore experiences from the First World War.

The investigation of different aspects of the Great War, under the umbrella title of, ‘Why do we remember the First World War?’ has been the focus of their work this term. The students visited the First World War galleries and participated in a ninety minute ‘Artist and War’ workshop in which they examined a variety of challenging art sources and interpretations to assist in the development of their critical thinking skills. The students particularly enjoyed the interactive nature of this task.  As they moved through the gallery, they employed an iPad app to craft a digital journal which evaluated a range of artists including John Singer Sargent, ‘Gassed’ and ‘Over the Top’ by John Nash. By engaging in careful observation, critical analysis, and the interactive AR gameplay, students gained a contextual understanding of wartime experiences and the media and techniques artists have used to portray them.

This visit to the Imperial War Museum definitely provided some brilliant beyond-the-curriculum extension material for our students, as well as engaging and inspiring them in a whole range of different topics. It certainly delivered further insight into the impact and experience of war and conflict and will be useful support for their final assessment task on this topic.