After the mid-term break Class 7 embarked (pun intended) on their Age of Discovery Main Lesson. We delved straight into the lives of the first ocean exploring Europeans (the Vikings) with a rousing song which they performed for the school assembly with stout hearts and courageous voices.

The Silk Road caught their attention next, as they followed 17-year-old Marco Polo on his first trip to the East, seeking silk, spices, novelty and adventure. He left behind a book of stories which, for the next two centuries, spread new ideas like wildfire across Europe. At this point be briefly stopped off to revise Latitude and Longitude (with balloons) and explore the origins of the ever-important Trade Winds. Back on board, the expansion of Islam pushed Europeans towards seeking a sea route to the East. The Portuguese got there first, but the Spanish were not going to be left behind. 

The students imagined themselves as Christopher Columbus – trying to convince a fellow sailor to join his cause – and wrote a dialogue outlining the arguments that each side would have had for or against taking the risk of trading by sea. They then crafted a recruitment poster outlining the required qualities of a crewman aboard the Santa Maria.

Much thought and imagination was put into living the first voyage alongside Columbus in the form of writing a diary of a Ship’s Officer and into analysing the voyage of Vasco da Gama and giving their own opinions on what made it a success. During one of our dynamic discussions, the class even came up with the analogy of the Treaty of Tordesilles: the nations of Spain and Portugal were locked in a soccer match with the Pope making the final call as referee!