On 14th November, Year 5 went on an amazing adventure to London!
They set off at 7:30am and arrived at 11am at the Tower of London. Their first stop was at Traitors Gate, where the people, who were brought to the tower to be imprisoned, would have entered by boat.
The second stop was to see the ravens! When King Charles II was on the throne he was told that if the ravens ever left the Tower then the ‘kingdom would fall’. So there are 6 ravens and a spare kept in the tower at all times.
After seeing the ravens, they went to see the Crown Jewels. Year 5 saw the Imperial State Crown which has almost 3000 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and about 270 pearls. They also saw Queen Mary’s and Queen Victoria’s crowns.
Then they went into the White Tower which was the oldest part of the tower which was instructed to be built by King William the Conqueror!
Once they came out of the White Tower, the children heard gun salutes. This was to celebrate the 75th birthday of King Charles III. There were 62 in total. 21 to mark the Palace, 21 to mark the royals’ birthday and 20 from the City of London.
After lunch, the children got the chance to speak to a real Beefeater! They asked some great questions and learned lots of important about their role.
The last stop in the tower was to go up onto the Barracks. From there the children got a better view over the White Tower, Tower Bridge and over into the streets where the Beefeaters live.
On the way home, the very kind coach driver took the children around other sites in London. They saw The London Eye, The Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Cenotaph (which was full with poppies and wreaths), Downing Street and Trafalgar Square.
Overall, Year 5 had a fantastic day in London and we hope it will be a memory they will cherish forever.
