Victorian School Day

Year 1 experience a Victorian School Day

Our Year 1 pupils experienced a very different kind of day at school when they embraced a traditional Victorian School Day. 

Our pupils had a special visit from ‘The Victorian School’ where a Victorian teacher dressed in traditional clothing explained how Victorian schools functioned: Strict teachers, standing up until told to sit down, standing up when a teacher enters the room, deportment, personal hygiene and learning about Queen Victoria. 

The children were introduced to different forms of writing that Victorian children used including how to write using a sand tray, writing using a slate, the blackboard and easel and pens and ink. They were able to examine a Victorian textbook and see other learning tools such as the abacus.

The Victorian teacher spoke about punishment and behaviour in Victorian schools and how strict discipline included the cane and the dunce's cap. He also spoke about Victorian morality and beliefs as well as the British Empire, Great Victorians, and Victorian interventions. 

The children were then given the opportunity to try out Victorian toys and games.

The children were taught about the development of toys from early times to the present day and how toys have evolved and changed over the course of time. They explored early Victorian toys such as clay marbles and toys made of wood and metal. They were then introduced to toys made towards the end of the Victorian era benefiting from the manufacturing processes of the Industrial Revolution. Tin toys and clockwork toys were popular, some of them being imported from Germany.

Lots of the children dressed up in traditional Victorian clothing and everyone was able to play with a selection of vintage games including marbles, stilts, top, skipping ropes and diabolos. 

The Victorian teacher also spoke about the variety of party games that children used to play, including tag, British Bulldog, skipping and charades.  

Valentino said: “I liked learning about toys and games from the past, some of the toys were really fun!”

Chloe said: “I liked dressing up like a Victorian for the day. I also got to play on an old rocking horse”. 

Teo said: “I found walking on the stilts a bit hard at first but I really enjoyed it!”