Dame Bradbury's 500 Years
Published on 16/03/22
Read Year 6's blogs on Dame Bradbury's 500 year anniversary for Integrated Learning Week.
DAME BRADBURY'S 500 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
Dame Bradbury's School is turning 500 this year (1522-2022) and we have been doing many Tudor-themed activities this week to celebrate.. Here is what Year 6 did...
On Monday everyone dressed up as Tudors to get into character for the upcoming week and the whole school formed the shape of a 500 for a picture.
On Tuesday we went on a walk around Saffron Walden to have an insight into the incredible history behind it. Did you know Saffron Walden used to be called Chipping Walden until it became a very good place to harvest the spice called Saffron? I didn't until this week.
We will all be performing at Saffron Hall for a special 500 year concert; you don't want to miss it.
by Alex
500 years!
This year our school turned 500 years old! This means that it has been open since 1522 which was during the Tudor period. Did you know our school isn’t where it was 500 years ago? It moved shortly after it was opened. Throughout the week we have been doing lots of different activities to celebrate.
The first thing we did was that on Monday the whole school (including the teachers) dressed up as someone from Tudor times. Some people dressed up as wealthy or royal people and others dressed up as servants and peasants. This was really fun as we sort of got to wear what we wanted to school. It was also great because we all stood in the shape of a 500 in our outfits and had an overhead photo taken of us.
Throughout the week we still had our usual lessons but in different lessons, we looked at things from Tudor times, for example in Spanish we looked at Catherine of Aragon who was Henry VIII’s first wife because she came from Spain. We also did Shakespeare in drama and Tudor news reports in English. This was great but not all lessons changed, maths, games and music were still the same.
On Tuesday, we walked around Saffron Walden and looked at all the buildings built in Tudor times. We looked at the church and talked about how it would have been important to the town as it was partly made out of stone which would have been expensive as it didn’t come from this area. We also looked at the remains of the castle that was built in 1441 in Norman times.
Later on, in the week we also had a scientist from Cambridge University come in to talk to us about science in Tudor times which was really interesting to see how much our theories have changed and, we had a loan box from the local museum just down the road which was filled with Tudor artefacts like old bottles, plates and even a whole tub of saffron which was really cool as some people thought it smelled good and others thought it smelled awful.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed the week as I found out a lot of things that I didn’t already know, and I think it is amazing to have a school that is 500 years old. I hope you learned a bit from my blog too!
by Lexi
DB 500
This year has been our school Dame Bradbury’s 500th year anniversary! It was first opened in Tudor times, so this week we learned all about them.
On Monday, we dressed up as Tudors!
On Tuesday, we went on a town trail throughout Saffron Walden and looked at the old Tudor designs on houses.
On Wednesday, we listened to a science talk about science in the Middle Ages.
One of the things I enjoyed most was the town trail as I learned many new things about Saffron Walden!
by Cheryl
Dame Bradbury's 500th Birthday Celebration
What a week it’s been!
It started off with the whole school coming in dressed as Tudors, to show how the students would have looked when the school first opened. Some of the costumes were very posh and others looked more like peasants. Everyone was involved including the teachers. We played old games to learn what the Tudor children did for fun. One game included a bean bag.
As part of the integrated learning week we did a town trail. I really enjoyed learning about the old buildings and how to spot them. I found the different targeting patterns used in Tudor times very interesting and I will look out for it when I’m out and about.
There was a real buzz around the school that we were there to celebrate the big birthday and proud to be part of the celebrations. One of the girls in my year designed the special tie we are wearing as part of our uniform for the rest of the year.
I'm glad I’m not a Tudor though because I wouldn't want our teachers to be so strict and allowed to hit us with the birch if we are naughty.
My favourite part of the week was being part of the photograph. The pupils all stood together making the number 500. I hope in 500 years’ time, Dame Bradbury’s pupils will be looking at me and celebrating the school's history.
by Jack
500 Years of Dame B’s!
This week it was the 500 year anniversary of Dame Bradbury’s.So, we took part in activities to find out about the Tudor times.
Top 3 activities
1. Dressing up as a Tudor:
It was lots and lots and lots of fun and everyone took part.
2. Making a massive 500 out of human bodies dressed as Tudors:
It took a while but was totally worth it.
3. The town trail:
We went round saffron Walden looking at all the Tudor houses. We even found a door smaller than a person.
Top 3 facts I learnt this week
1. The doors to Tudor houses are so small because the people were much shorter.
2. We learnt that the original location of Dame Bradbury’s was right next to the Saffron Walden church.
3. We also learnt that Dame Bradbury’s started off as an all-boys school.
by Jemima
Five Hundred Years At Dame B’s!
This year 500 years ago our amazing school was founded, Dame Bradbury’s. This week has been our integrated learning week. It was unusual for a woman to found a school back in Tudor times but our school is an exception.
What have we done in our integrated learning week:
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We have taken a huge photo of the whole school in the shape of a five hundred.
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We went on a very interesting walk around Saffron-Walden looking at lots of Tudor buildings.
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We have dressed up as Tudors.
Thematic has been especially interesting as we have looked at artefacts discovered locally. These included some bottles of ginger beer, pieces of old pots, a Stone Age arrowhead and hand axe. In English, we have been looking at Tudor reports and have been writing an article about the founding of Dame B’s. I am very proud to be at this school and to know people five hundred years ago took this opportunity to learn. It is amazing to have this opportunity.
Thank you for reading
By Max
Time Travel To Tudor’s!
Over the past week we have learnt many fascinating new facts about the school’s history and Saffron Walden. In this blog I will be sharing with you everything we did on each day. I hope that you enjoy it!
Monday
On Monday rather than a school of diligent pupils, children and adults all from the Tudor era appeared for the day! It was exciting to see how people dressed back then. It was our first introduction to the Tudor’s and I would say that it was one of the days that we learnt most through.
This is a photo of some of the Tudor’s that came to school…
Tuesday!
On Tuesday all the Tudor’s had disappeared to their own era again. In year 6 we left Dame Bradbury’s and went for the town trail around Saffron Walden. We looked at castle ruins, spider windows and huge beams and houses.
This is a photo of the castle ruin next to one of the first museums in the country…
Wednesday!
We had an interesting science talk with somebody from the University in Cambridge about medieval science. We specially looked at an object called an astrolabe which they used like a cellphone (but you couldn’t text or call)! We also in French looked at how the Tudor’s would dress.
This is a photo of an astrolabe…
Thursday!
On Thursday it was not just about our school and the Tudor’s because it was also World book Day. We received special book tokens that will be very much appreciated. In Spanish he looked at an obvious link to the Tudor’s with Catherine of Aragon.
This is a portrait of Catherine of Aragon…
Friday!
This was a more relaxed day where in assembly we reviewed everything that had happened and in the afternoon we had a captivating storytelling session. It was an extremely enjoyable and fun day. Overall it was an amazing week and one that I will never forget.
This is an image of books to represent our storyteller speaking to us…
THANKS FOR READING!!!!!!!!!!
by Molly