For the last weekend of the October half term, 40 Year 9 students met for the annual Classics trip to Bath.
Our first surprise was that we didn’t go to Bath at all to start with, but Wales. Our first classical site was Caerleon, where we saw the remains of an amphitheatre for the Roman soldiers, as well as their barracks. We learnt about what life was like for a Roman soldier in Britain and some of us dressed up in Roman armour. After having a look around the barracks, amphitheatre and museum, we headed back to Bath, and to our hostel.
We were staying up the hill outside the centre of town, which meant we had easy access to all of Bath, as well as great views. That night we walked into town, and had a pizza dinner, which was only slightly delayed by some heroic ‘good Samaritan’ activity by some of the teachers.
The next morning we headed out to Chedworth Roman Villa. This is the excavated remains of an old Roman villa, which gave a clear insight into how Romans would have lived their everyday lives, as well as how their lives differed from ours. We saw some beautiful mosaics and the different rooms in a Roman villa. After lunch at Chedworth, we headed to the Roman town of Cirencester, where we went to Corinium Museum. The museum documented all aspects of Roman life, as well as showing many of the objects found in excavations nearby. After a brief shopping trip in Cirencester and another evening meal out, we all went to the cinema to see Thor: Ragnarok; we were all pretty tired after a long day.
The third day was the last, but the best had been saved to last as we got to see the Roman Baths, in Bath itself. I loved this site, not only because it showed how Romans spent their leisure time and worshipped the gods, but also because it was simply breathtaking to look at. It was especially nice the day we visited because the weather was great.
It was a shame when we had to go home, but I was so glad to have gone, and would recommend it to everyone.
Thank you to the teachers for organising such an interesting and fun trip!
Jennifer Thomas, Year 9
