Victorian values for a day for Melrose pupils
DEPORTMENT, dunce hats and a trip to the Saumarez Park Folk Museum were all part of Melrose’s Victorian Day.
The school’s Year 6 children all dressed up for a morning of Victorian-style school followed by a tour of the museum.
‘It’s part of our Victorian study and Victorian Day to try and develop empathy with the Victorian child,’ said class teacher Sarah Morris.
‘They absolutely loved dictation for a day and experiencing what it would be like.’
She said the girls had deportment lessons, chanted their times-tables, wrote on slates, and hand-washed some clothes outside.
‘It’s been really fun learning in the style of a Victorian child,’ said Holly Lavin, 10.
‘It is definitely very different to how we learn now – the teachers were a lot more strict and you were punished even if you did something little wrong.’
The children were inspected in the morning but many of them would be dirty, she added.
‘Lots of children would go to work before or after school.’
Left-handed Megan Carter said adjusting to the Victorian classroom was fun but difficult.
‘It was really hard because I’m left-handed and had to write with my right hand,’ she said.
‘It’s a nice feeling when the teachers go back to normal.’
Eleanor Burchett said she had to wear a sign that said ‘rude’ for taking off her cardigan.
‘It was really scary, but I had to try not to laugh,’ she said. ‘It was so fun.’
Mrs Morris said the Folk Museum gave the girls an insight into Victorian times.
‘It’s just a fantastic display of Victorian life,’ she said.
‘The kitchen is a real eye-opener and shows just how lucky we are now with so many gadgets to make our lives easier.’
