Visit aids pupils’ development
CHILDREN from a school in Aldershot have visited a historic site in the town to enhance their studies.
The pupils from Talavera Infant School went to Gun Hill Park to see the transformation of the Grade IIlisted Cambridge Military Hospital, a 12-acre collection of magnificent Victorian and Edwardian buildings.
The trip was organised by Weston Homes, which led the redevelopment of the site into a residential address, and featured a visit from company mascot Theodore the bear.
Sarah-Jane Jackson, deputy headteacher at the Gun Hill school, said: “We are very grateful to Weston Homes for accommodating our lovely Year 1 children at their fantastic development in Aldershot. The children had a very fun, educational day covering a wide scope of topics.”
The children focused their visit around three key learning objectives. In science, they have been studying materials so were shown the elements that go into the different stages and areas of building, from raw structures through to the completed show home. In literacy, the children have been studying The Three Little Pigs, which tied in nicely with the history of the site where the barrack buildings near the Cambridge began as wooden huts and were replaced with the sturdier brick Victorian buildings. Finally, the children have also been looking at the words ‘old’ and ‘new,’ so the refurbishment and transformation of the old military hospital worked well as a visual representation of the meaning behind these words.
Suzanne Aplin, group sales and marketing director at Weston Homes, said: “We were delighted to be able to host the children from Talavera Infant School at our fantastic Gun Hill Park development. The site has such a rich history and it was our pleasure to be able to show the children round, explain to them the different influences involved in the site and educate them on the building processes that a development of such scale requires.”