Old and new cultures clash on Cuddington school trip

Year Five pupils from Cuddington Croft School in Cheam enjoyed a time travelling school trip recently when they visited the Tate Modern art gallery and Shakespeare’s Globe theatre on London's Bankside.

Year Five pupils from Cuddington Croft School in Cheam enjoyed a time travelling school trip recently when they visited the Tate Modern art gallery and Shakespeare’s Globe theatre on London's Bankside.

First of all, the group had a taste of the world’s most cutting edge contemporary art, seeing some potential classics of the future, at the converted Bankside power station gallery. Then, they were  thrust back 400 years as they were given a tour around the award-winning theatre
venue, built close to the site of the original Globe Theatre where Shakespeare himself is reputed to have performed, and in as authentic a period style as possible, for the greatest sense of authenticity.

Pupils were shown round the backstage areas and allowed into the performers’ practice room, before being given the chance to add ‘actor at Globe Theatre’ to their cvs, as they were broken up into groups of five to act out scenes from Macbeth.

Teacher Diggory Dunn, who oversaw the trip, said it had been a day of entertainment, education and enlightenment for the pupils. "Although they're situated so close to one another, you can hardly get a bigger contrast than Tate Modern and the Globe, so they're a great pairing for a school trip," he explained.

"Shakespeare is something that all children encounter at school, but some of the items at Tate Modern are unlike anything they're likely to have come across before, so it really stirs up their imagination and gets them thinking," he continued. "The Globe is fascinating too, as it brings together literature, history and cultural studies in such a wonderful way. It was the sort of trip where you couldn't help by come away feeling inspired in one way or another, and from what the children have said, they really enjoyed it."