Year 9 Classicists Visit to Bath
Pupils in Year 9 enjoyed a lively weekend exploring the city of Bath’s Roman heritage last weekend.
The group first took in an afternoon at Caerleon just over the Welsh border, one of Britain’s best preserved Roman amphitheatres. Built around AD90, the amphitheatre seated 6,000 spectators, and the students had great fun re-enacting (supervised) gladiatorial combat using lightweight wooden swords and shields.
A visit to the Caerleon Fortress followed, home to a vast Roman Legionary barracks, one of just three permanent fortresses built in Britain, where the pupils recreated an infantry marching formation under the leadership of Classics department staff.
After an evening of recreation including games and Classics-themed quizzes, the group spent the following day in Aquae Sulis at the famous Baths themselves. As well as a tour, students completed a bingo-style hunt where they were tasked with finding features of the Baths including gorgon heads and graffiti.
A workshop at the Roman Baths museum followed, giving the students an immersive glimpse into contemporary life in the city, and an unparalleled hands-on experience with replica and genuine Roman artefacts including original glass pieces and tiles from the Baths.
Head of Classics Harry Biggs said:
“We had a fantastic visit to Bath, providing a hugely enriching experience for our Year 9 students. Retracing the lives and footsteps of Romans in the original environment brings the subject to life in a unique way. I was so proud of the group, they fully immersed themselves into the experience, and were extremely focused. We also must have done something to please the god of weather as we had mild conditions, and the group had very enjoyable time.”
