Form 4 visited Wandlebury Country Park, a 110-acre estate in the Gog Magog hills, just south of Cambridge. The children spent a whole day’s learning about the life of the inhabitants of the Iron Age. They had a guided tour of the site, learnt all about Wandlebury's past and what evidence has been found to show what it would have looked like in the Iron Age, including the hill fort complete with circular ditch. At its heart is the historic Wandlebury Ring - the remains of an iron age hill fort and 18th century stables and gardens.
"The emphasis of the trip is on practical, hands-on activities in the open air."
The children spent part of the morning examining the type of food that was eaten and the way in which they produced their flour. With the assistance of Wandlebury staff, pupils created a simple bread dough using flour, water and dried milk powder. The children then had to ‘bake’ their bread over the open pit fire and had the opportunity of eaten the fruits of their labour. All the children enjoyed the physical task of threshings and innowing the ears of grain before grinding wheat using a quern stone. They learnt that roundhouses were the standard form of housing built in Britain from the Bronze Age throughout the Iron Age. The people built walls made of either stone or of wooden posts joined by wattle-and-daub panels, and topped with a conical thatched roof. Afterwards, they wove a mini wattle wall to take home. One of many highlights was getting to use slingshots to learn about defending the Wandlebury hillfort.
"Form 4 gained new experiences and developed their understanding of Iron Age life which they will be able to apply in their cross-curricular work at school."
