We had a fantastic trip to Colchester Castle as part of our Romans topic this term. The children were excited to go and see the place that Boudica burnt down when she revolted against the Romans back in 60 CE. As if we were stepping back in time, we found ourselves at the castle gate ready to explore and find some truly amazing artefacts. Our first activity tested the skills of the leaders and organisers in Hippo class. Split into groups they were asked to build either a Roundhouse or a Roman Villa. Some got quickly to work while others stood back and tried to piece together all the materials. The Roundhouse proved to be tricky as there was lots of weaving involved, and the roof struggled to stay in place.

After a quick snack, we were off on our next adventure. We discovered a 50 foot well dug deep into the castle foundations and learnt that it had once travelled from the bottom of the castle all the way to the top. With great care, we then climbed down some very steep steps under the castle to the Roman temple vaults. After crawling through arches, we settle down to learn all about the history of the castle.  There were Roman helmets and shields to hold and there was a replica of the Temple that once stood on the very foundations where we were sat. We even got to act out a battle between the Iceni and Romans.

After lunch the children were desperate to go exploring around the museum to find all the incredible artifacts that we had heard about from the tour guide. There were Roundhouses to role play in, hundreds of coins to see, jewellery and pottery to discover. The children were most keen to find the burnt roll that had been discovered after Colchester was burnt to the ground by Boudica. We also spent time looking at the different mosaics as a primary source from our history lessons.

The day was a great success, and it was wonderful to see how much the children already remembered about the Romans and especially Boudica from our lessons at school. The museum was great fun and had the children entertained all day.