Romans

Some parents will be aware that the Year 4 children have been studying the Romans this year. Just before the end of term I was privileged to be asked to meet with all of the Year 4 children to tell them about my experiences of visiting and helping at an archaeological dig near Hadrian’s Wall. 

Miss Brown and Mr Flory suggested that I might like to speak to them from 9am until break at 10:30. I thought that an hour would probably be plenty and, to be honest, I wasn’t sure I could fill that. I have done many presentations to big audiences but the idea of keeping the attention of 61 Year 4s was one of the scarier things I have been asked to do. In the end, we ran out of time and I enjoyed every minute of it.

We talked about what Hadrian’s Wall looks like now, how we know what happened in Roman times, why we do archaeological digs and what has been found over the years. I showed them some of my photos taken at the time (and some that I didn’t take – which they spotted!) and talked about the experience of finding items that haven’t been seen for nearly 2000 years.

It was a real pleasure to hear how much the children had learned. Every time I asked a question a sea of hands went in the air and everyone had a story to tell. They clearly enjoyed studying the Romans but, more importantly they, remembered a lot of it. Most impressively they were able to articulate their ideas and apply what they had learned.

I would like to thank Mr Hudd, Miss Brown and Mr Flory for the opportunity to share some time with the children. If anyone is thinking that they might have something interesting to share with the children then I would encourage you to do so. They are not as scary as they seem and you will have a ball.

John Reeve