On the 4th and 19th June, Year 7 Latin students enjoyed a wonderful Latin trip to Windsor.
Students strolled through Windsor Great Park, famous as a filming location from the third and fourth ‘Harry Potter’ films. We saw the beautiful Cascade Waterfall with its grotto housing various sylvanian fairies, who emerge during the moonlight hours. We learned about their connection to classical nymphs, as well as Roman beliefs about woodland deities.
We then enjoyed a MM talk on the Roman temple based at Windsor Great Park, all the way from Leptis Magna (Libya). Students’ knowledge of the labours of Hercules, the myth which inspired the design of the temple’s metopes, was extremely impressive. We also pointed out the design and Corinthian columns of the temple, with Miss Aitken-Burt on hand to lend her expertise. Meanwhile, Mr Adams led a classical ‘pub quiz’, winners for which were awarded happy Haribo!
The group then arrived in Legoland. We visited the ‘Mythica’ section, based on Hercules’ labours and with sections inspired by the content of the Cambridge Latin Course. We saw the Nemean Lion, Hydra and Chimera LEGO models, and took a ride on the world’s only 4D flying theatre – ‘The Flight of the Sky Lion’. We were also transported to Ancient Egypt on the ‘Laser Raiders’ ride, replete with LEGO figures of canopic jars, obelisks, mummified bodies and more, which prompted edifying discussion of Egyptian funerary practices.
Highlights included the Log Flume, Minifigure Speedway and Hydra’s Challenge, in which the group came face-to-face with the many-headed Hydra encountered by Hercules in his second labour.
After a quick visit to the gift shop, we boarded the coach back to Emanuel, with memories to last a lifetime.
Thank you to Mr Adams, Miss Aitken-Burt, Miss Bailey, Ms Ferstman, Mr Flintoff, Ms Hoult, Mrs Limon, Miss Nolan and Ms Philp for their help on both trips.
