Truro High’s Prep 3 class got hands-on with their history lessons this week becoming Ancient Greek scholars for a morning of time-travelling lessons.
Alongside dressing in ancient costume, the classroom was transformed into the Platonic Academy with traditional lessons given an ancient perspective. The girls studied maths with hand-made abacus, learnt how to write their names in Ancient Greek on their own wax tablets and played knucklebones, also known as astragaloi in Greek, the antecedent of the modern-day game of jacks.
The girls had spent weeks preparing for the event including creating their own abacus with wool and beads and melting candles into frames to make wax tablets in art. Their history lessons had been spent researching education in Classical Greece to find out how schooling differed for their ancient counterparts.
The girls even had the chance earlier in the term to handle ancient artefacts from a local museum.
Prep 3 pupil, Chloe Frankland said: “I really enjoyed trying out being an Ancient Greek. You get to feel what life was like for them and then compare it to your own. I was very surprised to find out that only the boys were allowed to go to school. From everything I’ve learnt today, I think girls would have enjoyed school in Ancient Greece too.”
There are more exciting opportunities for interactive history lessons ahead for the class. The girls will be holding their own Olympic Games and Ancient Greek feast later in the term to further their exploration of the Classical past.
Prep 3 teacher, Miss Annabel Ramsay said: “Days like this are a fantastic way for the girls to experience living history and explore the past in a truly interactive way. Envisaging life thousands of years ago is often difficult which is why it is so important for our pupils to get hands on with their history lessons and bring the ancient world to life.”
