We walked down to the British Schools Museum to find out what life was like in Victorian times. Everyone came dressed up as a Victorian child and walked sensibly, but excitedly, down to the museum. 

When we arrived we had to add extra items to our costumes. The girls had aprons to put on and the boys wore a collar and waistcoat. We sat on benches in lines and waited to hear all about our exciting day! 

The day had lots of interesting parts. We looked at the benefactors of the school and compared rich and poor Victorian life. We also got to see lots of interesting artefacts like Victorian hair straighteners, washing machines and ovens - they were very different to the ones we have now!

The classes then took it in turns to take part in a Victorian lesson and visit the Headmaster's house. The house was set how it would have been in Victorian times. We got to see the kitchen where the food was prepared. They didn't have a fridge or any electricity or gas. The family burnt one candle a day and when that candle went out, everyone went to bed - even if it was only 4pm! We also saw the families bedrooms. The children would have shared beds and the house had no bathroom. Everyone had a bath once a week in front of the fire and the toilet was outside. It was a very interesting house to look round and we all learnt a lot! 

The second exciting part of the day was a visit to a Victorian classroom where we were taught by a Victorian teacher. She taught use some Maths, where we had to add shillings and pence. Then we got to try and write like Victorian children. We practised our handwriting using an ink pen and a pot of ink. This was very tricky and we had to make sure we didn't get ink on us, otherwise the teacher would be very cross. The teacher was very strict and even made someone wear the dunce's hat because they answered a question wrong. She also got very cross with someone and gave them the cane. This was how Victorian children would have been treated at school. We all decided we decided we would much rather go to school in 2024 but had an amazing day!