The children in Form 4 visited Stibbington Village and Education Centre near Peterborough and travelled back in time to the year 1896. Dressed in Victorian skirts and mop caps, or breeches and cloth caps, the young Victorians were given identities of children who actually went to Stibbington School during Queen Victoria’s era.
The visit included a taste of Victorian school life. The children discovered that Victorian teachers were very strict; every time a child answered a question, they had to stand up to speak and woe betide anyone who tried to write with their left hand or ended up with ink on their fingers. The punishments were harsh; the cane, getting your nose covered in chalk and standing for hours with a wooden board behind your arms to create good posture were just a few. One Form 4 Victorian explained, "The walk around Stibbington village was really interesting as well. We saw the small cottage where the Eassom family lived. Many children would have left school and worked in his house or on his land. We searched for our ‘family’ graves in the churchyard. I found my ‘parents’ grave but could not find one for Arthur Eassom. He may have left the village to find work in a city and been buried there. It was such a fun day and I’ve learned so much from it. I’m glad I was not a child in those times!”
The children exercised in the school playground using the phrase ‘healthy body, healthy mind’ and played with replica stilts, hoops, sticks, cups and balls. They also visited the village church to look for the graves of the ancestors of the children they were researching. Mr Steve Harding, Head of History said, “A very memorable part of the day was spending time in the Victorian Schoolroom being taught in the manner of a real Victorian class. The day provided insight into how life for children has changed for the better.”
