Glyn pupils experience navy life on dry land

​Pupils from the Glyn School in Ewell went time travelling recently when they visited a state of the art museum about one of the country’s most historic old artefacts.

The students from years Eight and Nine were paying a visit to the Mary Rose Trust Museum in Portsmouth, the specially-designed home of the flagship of Henry VIII’s fleet which sank in 1545 before being raised from the bed of the Solent over 400 years later.

The museum houses the remains of the ship’s hull, preserved in mud on the seabed for centuries, and a selection of the remarkable horde of items found on board, including pieces such as the ship’s treasure chest, sailors’ personal effects and even the skeleton of the ship’s dog.

“This is a fascinating place to visit as it brings the past to life in such a spectacular way,” said history teacher Alex Summers, who organised the trip. “As well as the ship itself, the interactive exhibits give visitors such an amazing sense of what the reality of life was like in those days, both on the ship and on dry land, and I could see how involved the pupils became in the topic.”

This was just the latest in a series of educational days out for pupils at Glyn, one of the founder members of the GLF Schools group, a multi-academy trust which now runs over a dozen schools across the south east of England. Other trips later this term include to the Natural History Museum and the Houses of Parliament.

​“As Portsmouth is so full of history we also took advantage of being there to visit HMS Victory, and the boys were complemented by museum staff on their enthusiasm and behaviour,” added Mr Summers. “They certainly enjoyed the visit, and as a teacher it was a pleasure to take them there.”