King’s Park Secondary School

In September a group of Higher History pupils travelled down to Durham for the day. We went to visit the Beamish Outdoor Museum; it is a working village which is set around the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and is there to show what life was like for people at that time. In the morning we went down a mine to be shown their working conditions. Many people liked this, however I was not a fan as it was dark, damp and seriously cramped! We were able to go into the houses and shops. After exploring the town we were given a lesson as if we were school children from that time. The teacher was rather scary at first as the rules were the same as they were in the past – a complete culture shock for us but it was interesting to see how different life was then compared to now.                 

On Thursday 25^th September, I and fellow Higher History students participated in a trip to the Beamish Outdoor Museum in County Durham. The most enjoyable experience for me was when we went into the mine. It was very interesting learning about how people used to risk their lives mining coal. We also had a Victorian school lesson where we had to do sums using pounds, shillings and pence, and we had to memorise a poem. We were allowed to wander around the various locations and have a look in the town, where there is a dentist and an old fashioned sweet shop. There was a tram and a bus that took you round the entire site. All in all it was a very enjoyable day for everyone.

Mark Heron

Higher History Visit to Beamish