By Mrs Everitt (Second in English)

On Monday, Year 8 visited the beautiful home town of William Shakespeare: Stratford-upon-Avon. Students sat in the very room where Shakespeare studied between the ages of 7 and 14, learning, among other things, Latin and rhetoric. Shakespeare’s father was elected Bailiff in 1568 and attended meetings downstairs in the same building (used as a Guild Hall) for many years. Our guide showed us timber beams made from trees from the Forest of Arden, and a very rare mediaeval wall painting in a side room possibly used as a priest’s private space.

Stratford Town Walks also gave us a fascinating tour of the town. Students saw the building (and were able to identify the very room) where Shakespeare was born, and heard details about Shakespeare’s family, including the fortunes of his children and grandchildren who sadly left no heir to Shakespeare’s family name. We saw other landmarks in the town – the bank, for example, that features scenes from Shakespeare plays in its stonework (and notably from The Merchant of Venice), and Harvard House, owned by the Harvard family who travelled to Massachusetts and set up the Library and University of that name some years later.

As well as having lunch in the lovely green outside the Royal Shakespeare Company theatre, the students were able to visit Stratford Butterfly Farm – the largest butterfly farm in the UK. Here we saw a stunning variety of butterflies and other creatures from various tropical habitats, the butterflies being bred in the farm or bought from conservation projects or village projects that support conservation. 

Nora Nihad commented: “I loved the Butterfly Farm! It was amazing to see so many creatures with unique colours and patterns flitting around the room, and some even landed on my phone! I found writing with a swan quill [at Shakespeare’s Schoolroom] quite interesting too, although I much prefer the more modernised ballpoint pen!” Holly Katasi also admired the “really pretty” butterflies.

Jia Kirkpatrick added: “I liked the tour of Stratford-upon-Avon because we learnt a lot of interesting facts about the town and its history.”

Isabella Davis agreed: “I really enjoyed the Stratford trip. I found it very interesting, especially going into the school and being able to see the facilities and use some of them, and being able to try on some of the clothes and writing with the quill.”