Year 3 pupils step back to Anglo-Saxon times

On Monday 12 March, our Year 3 pupils visited the Anglo-Saxon village at West Stow, where they stepped back in time to the Bronze Age. The girls took part in various activities that provided a fantastic opportunity to extend their classroom learning about Anglo-Saxon life.

On arrival at the village, it did not take the group long to begin discussing how hard it must have been for inhabitants of the village to live in the crowded, dark and smoky thatched houses: as well as how horrible it must have been to wear the itchy and dull clothes! 

The girls were asked to search the properties around the village for evidence of what life would have been like for the Saxon’s whilst, along the way, looking out for various objects. One of the items the girls were tasked to find was a pair of bellows, a device constructed to create a strong blast of air. The girls and teachers alike learnt that bellows were used mainly in iron working to increase air flow to the fire.

After the pupils had sat down for some lunch they ventured inside the museum, where they had the opportunity to see excavated artefacts from the site. The artefacts in the museum all contributed to our current understanding of the village structure as well as the wider Anglo-Saxon community, so it was a real privilege for all! As ever the girls were brilliant and asked mature and thought-provoking questions during the visit.