A sea of cheerful faces and full of good spirits, Swallows Class set off to Blenheim Palace on foot. The weather, although a bit grey, was perfect for our walk: not too hot and not too cold. Everyone enjoyed a bit of nature-spotting en route. We were lucky enough to see three herons, all of which flew over the lake, a number of white egrets, lots of mallards, moorhens and coots, swans, geese and even a muntjac (confirmed by Corin’s monocular). We arrived a little muddy, but to a lovely welcome from the staff at Blenheim, who showed us where to put our boots and leave our coats.
To begin, half the group went off to explore the Winston Churchill exhibition. Highlights were definitely reading his poor school report, seeing Churchill’s childhood curls (much longer than the children were expecting) and the waxwork of Churchill himself. We also enjoyed learning about his relationship with Blenheim and beginning to learn about the Dukes of Marlborough. The other group had been ushered into a secret room in the grounds, where they undertook a code-cracking exercise. Everyone was gripped by this and worked really hard together to crack the codes, using clues round the room, and win us each a Blenheim pencil case to take home. After eating our lunch, we walked back to school with plenty to talk about and bubbling with new knowledge.
Swallows were absolutely exemplary in their behaviour. They were a delight to walk with and were fully engaged in all the activities. We are all looking forward to following up this work and to our next school trip later in the term.
