Brentwood Preparatory School Magazine

Brentwood School Preparatory 21 Victorian Day 125 Celebrations As part of the 125 Year Celebrations, we held a whole school Victorian Day. Each year group, from Nursery to Year Six, participated in various activities around the school from arts and crafts to a Victorian classroom experience. Year One and Two spent the morning learning what life would have been like as servants in a Big House in 1892, they then displayed their talents by recreating a Music Hall. Year Three and Four spent their day making and playing with Victorian toys, improving their needlework and learning some excellent Music Hall songs. Year Five were kept in line by a Victorian teacher during the morning, they couldn’t quite believe how strict teachers were in 1892. The afternoon was spent investigating Victorian artefacts and professions. Year Six wrote, starred in and edited their own mini films about Victorian life. It was truly an excellent day – there is simply no better way to learn about an era than to fully immerse yourself inside it. Mr Prideaux Victorian Day was new this year because of Brentwood School’s 125th anniversary and I am sure everyone LOVED it! Mr Prideaux organised it all for Nursery, Reception, Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4, Y5, and Y6! We all arrived in Victorian children’s clothes and then went to meet our ‘Victorian teacher for the day’, Miss Black (her real name was Ruth) who said she would be strict but she would only be acting. So we then lined up in a neat, straight line outside the hall. When we were at the front of the line she inspected both sides of our hands but the children with dirty hands had to go and wash them till their hands went red (they didn’t really!). Then we all stood behind our chairs and had to recite the Lord’s prayer which she had written on the black board, unfortunately she then told us to turn around and recite it off by heart! After that she taught us a song about our Kings and Queens and then we all went out to break. When we came back in from break she sent someone to wash their mouth out with soap because they were talking (again they didn’t really do it!) and later on she sent out 5 boys to be caned by Mr Haskett because they were messing about (he also didn’t cane them!). Finally at the end, we stopped acting Victorian and Ruth became nice again! Later she told us a really scary story that she said was real but it probably wasn’t so we weren’t too scared! After that we made Victorian children’s toys and we got to take them home. I loved Victorian day and I’m sure that everyone else did too. By Sophie Cooke