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office@fernmid.dorset.sch.uk
Ferndown Middle School
Peter Grant Way Ferndown Dorset BH22 9UP

London 2016

Posted on 10/06/2016

London 2016 9It was great to have the privilege to take another group to London this year, and what a fantastic few days we had exploring the capital. First stop BBC Broadcasting House where we ate our packed lunch, watched the weather forecast live and had a photograph with a Dalek!

“At the BBC it was really cool to see how they actually film the weather”.

“The weather forecaster waved at us”.

 Next stop Churchill’s War Rooms, A secret wartime bunker under Whitehall. We were underground, the walls were six feet thick and we saw where Sir Winston Churchill conducted much of the planning during the Second World War and made some of his famous speeches. We even saw where he slept. The bunker felt like they had only just left.

“I loved the War Rooms” – Grace.

To the Hotel – we only had just enough time to drop off our suitcases here before boarding the coach to take us for our evening meal at The Devereux in the City of London. We were upstairs in the function room and had fish and chips.

From the Devereux we settled down to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. It was a great show, amazing effects and a great story.  After the show it was a short walk back to the hotel. We walked past the oldest pub in London, a pub in which the infamous highwayman Dick Turpin drank.  Then to sleep!

“At the end of the day we were very tired”.

The second day – breakfast at 8am and off to the Dungeons!

The Dungeons recreated the history of London in a fun and amusing way. It brought the gruesome history of London to life using actors and amazing special effects.

“The Dungeons were amazing, unexpected things happened and I could not close my eyes”.

“I really enjoyed how the London Dungeon presented history”.

We survived the Dungeons which was a highlight of the trip for many of us and then we and boarded a boat at the London Eye for our trip down the Thames to The Tower of London. During the journey we saw many of the historic sights of London, including St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Globe Theatre and Tower Bridge. We had a funny and informative commentary from a crew member who pointed out the sights and told us interesting stories about each landmark.

“The sights that we saw from the boat were super”.

We had one hour on shore at The Tower of London where we took photographs and looked around before catching the boat back to Westminster Pier.  Once ashore we walked up to Downing Street, we did not see the Prime Minister. We saw the Queen’s Lifeguards on horseback guarding Horse Guards Parade and walked on to Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus, taking in the landmarks as we went.

“There was never time to be bored”.

We had now worked up an appetite for our meal at the Rainforest Café. The food was great and it was strange eating in a rainforest during a thunder storm! After the meal it was a short work to the Theatre to see the evening performance of Matilda.

After the show we were lucky enough to meet the cast at the stage door. Mrs Rice’s sister plays Miss Honey in the show. We met her, Miss Honey, Mr and Mrs Wormwood and Miss Trunchbull. We got autographs and asked them about the show and even discovered that Miss Trunchbull was played by a man!

“It was a great musical”. – Ed

“I loved Matilda; it was funny because a man played Miss Trunchbull. Also after the show we met the cast”.

The final day started with breakfast at 8 am.  We packed – most of us though had not had time to unpack! Apart from sleeping we had only spent a total of 30 minutes in our rooms… no wonder they were so tidy!!  We then boarded the coach and set off to Warner Bros. Studios. Here we visited the Making of Harry Potter. It was amazing to see behind the scenes and many secrets were revealed. We saw many of the sets and props from the films, had photographs taken and some of us even went to Wand School!  We had our packed lunch outside 4 Privet Drive. Some of us bought Butter Beer to go with our sandwiches.  After an amazing visit we boarded the coach for the last time to make the journey back to Ferndown. It had been amazing!!  We were all very tired but had had a fantastic, action packed trip and had so many great memories.

“I can’t believe how much we have managed to fit into 36 hours” – Chloe.

 “The best school trip ever” – Max