Year 5 went on a trip to Gloucester this week. They visited the Docks,  looking at its structure and explored the role that the Docks have played in the history and development of Gloucester.  They also took lots of photos of the buildings and reflections in the water in preparation for their final art piece on Pointillism. 

This year the team were lucky enough to secure a visit to Gloucester Prison as well. The prison was operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service and closed in 2013 and now is only open for educational tours.  Our tour was led by former serving Governor of the prison, who gave them real  insight into what it would have felt like to be an inmate at the prison.

The children were shown the prison yard where the inmates would have exercised and got to go inside a prisoner transportation vehicle, informally known as a "Sweat Box" or “Court Bus” amongst British prisoners.  They were also shown the prison cells in which the children were amazed to only find a metal bed, toilet and sink! It was freezing cold, dark and extremely dirty too. They particularly enjoyed eating their lunch in the lunch hall where the prisoners would have actually eaten.

We were so impressed by how well the children immersed themselves in the trip. They were so polite and listened brilliantly and were true ambassadors for out school.