Year 3 visit Christ's College, Cambridge

As part of our Junior School Integrated Learning Project, Year 3 was invited to visit Christ’s College on the morning of Tuesday 13 March. We were met by Samantha and Hannah, who talked briefly about the history of the college and then showed us some of the principal spaces.

The Library was a particular highlight for many for the pupils and they took great delight in trying to guess how many books were carefully catalogued in this precious environment. After narrowing it down to 50,000 items we were impressed to hear that many of these books have now been digitally recorded to preserve the original copies.

Year 3 pupils were also privileged enough to visit what was once Charles Darwin’s bedroom when he attended Christ’s College as a student. We were surprised to hear that this room is now a teaching space for current students. The Chapel, which appeared simple yet magnificent, held a few secrets. We had great fun trying to find the secret door which leads through to the Master’s Lodge and we were delighted to discover the eagle lectern which swallowed donations.

As we wandered through the impressive gardens and vast buildings we pondered over the last 800 years of college history and how that has shaped education in Cambridge today.

‘I was interested in Charles Darwin’s room. I was surprised it was so small.’ Arsalan

‘I was amazed to hear that the college had to close down for a short time when rats carried the plague.’ Orla

‘The old Library was beautiful. I found out that some of the oldest books were not even made out of paper.’ Elizabeth