Winchester Cathedral trip
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On Thursday 1st of May, 45 students from Year 7 & 8 journeyed to Winchester Cathedral as part of a Religious Studies curriculum.
The students spent their visit taking part in three different sessions. The first session was a guided tour of the Cathedral, learning about its importance in history and in Christianity, including links to the dissolution of the monasteries and Henry VIII, as well as going into the crypt to see the artwork given to the Cathedral by Antony Gormley.
The second session focused on learning about the role of monks and how they administered medieval medicine. Students learnt about how monks/doctors and healers would diagnose illnesses and what cures were given. They got to roleplay, being a medieval doctor/healer and a patient, as well as creating an amulet and pomander as protection against disease.
After a stop for lunch and a visit to the Cathedral gift shop they finished the day with a question-and-answer session with Canon Andrew. The students could ask any question they wanted and grilled Canon Andrew on many topics, asking questions such as:
Why did you become a priest?
How does being a priest work in everyday life?
What is the Christian view of the war in Ukraine?
As always, our students behaved impeccably, asking brilliant questions and appreciating and respecting this impressive place of worship. Staff and volunteers at the Cathedral commented on how brilliantly behaved and well-mannered all our students were during our visit.
“"The Religious Studies trip was amazing! We went to explore the Cathedral with a tour guide and they were fantastic, in fact all of the staff were kind and helped us. Once we have explored the Cathedral we had a workshop on medieval medicine. We made an amulet and looked at the medieval diagnosis system. When I did this with my friend, we found out his character needed leeches! Finally, we met Canon Andrew, whom we asked interesting questions like "What is the difference between a Canon, Priest and Vicar?" and "What Bible story/verse is most important to you", all of his responses were interesting. I loved it!”