On Saturday 20th January, our first History Hunt took place.
A group of Year 11 pupils travelled to York with Mr Hobbis and Mrs Williams. The day with pupils heading back in time and down deep beneath the ground as they entered the York Nuclear Bunker.
York Bunker is one of the best surviving nuclear bunkers in England – a time capsule of the 1960s through to the 1990s – and allowed students to gain an understanding of the nuclear arms race.
After a short video introduction, pupils explored the bunker looking at how the voluntary members would have lived and worked. The bunker would have been open for just four minutes for the volunteers to race to the bunker before a potential strike! Pupils entered the control room, where explosion monitoring took place, to help rescue and recovery efforts once ‘fall out’ had finished.
Pupils then visited the National Railway Museum, stepping aboard a First World War ambulance train. Ambulance trains carried millions of sick and injured soldiers to safety throughout the 1914-1918 conflict. Pupils heard the often untold story, by moving through the carriage and exploring a ward, a pharmacy and a nurses’ mess room.
They also saw Tim Peake’s space capsule which saw the safe return of the astronaut from his recent space mission!
Royal carriages, Japanese bullet trains and even a walk of the Eurostar before heading to York Centre for a walking tour, exploring the Minister and even the Shambles which supposedly inspired Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley.
The final stop was York Castle, with breathtaking views across York.
A truly fantastic day. Pupils were a credit to the school.
Mr J Hobbis
