The Vikings are coming!

Published on isbi School News dated Wednesday 13th of October 2010

The Vikings are coming!

Year 4 pupils at St Olave's took a step back in time when they spent a day learning about the Vikings and their craftsmanship and built a 5m Viking Longship. They also made and decorated the oars, constructed shields, tried weaving, made the sail, designed dragon mast heads and made a lodestone compass.

Pupils really got into the spirit of the day and came dressed up as Vikings,' said Cath Fynn, Year 4 teacher at St Olave's. 'It was great to see the ship finished and all the elements everyone had contributed to come together at the end.'

Inspired by the day, pupils have since gone on to make a lovely collage display outside their classroom of a Viking ship populated by their classmates,' she added.

The 5m long, quarter size model took a lot of patient work to make - the rivets were fixed one by one and the centre seat and structure had to be perfectly fitted. The children worked in teams and rotated round the activities as well as learning all about the Vikings as the day progressed.

Background information

The day was organised by history teaching company 'Make Your Own History' who also have a Tudor House build project.

St Olave's School is the Junior School of St Peter's School, and takes pupils from the ages of 8-13.It is an independent day and boarding co-educational school for 350 pupils.

Head Andy Falconer, also Chair of IAPS for 2010-2011.