On Friday 18 July, some 40 boys from Wyvern House Preparatory School’s Forms 2F and 2S visited the Chaplain Peter Swain Archives Exhibition Room as part of their exploration of ‘The Way We Were’.

Led by teachers Cate Fryda, Rebecca Stewart and Andrea Turner, the boys assembled outside Founders Building, where they showed how much they already knew about the College’s early history. The special theme for this year’s session was ‘Justice’. A cane from the Archives collection provided a link to disciplinary practice of the past. The boys had been invited to wear period costume and most did, which added greatly to the atmosphere of their visit.

Then Mrs Turner led one class in a discussion of what life and learning was like in the early decades of Newington’s history, while the other class went up to the Archives Exhibition Room on the second floor of Founders. There they carried out an activity that involved searching for a number of historical objects shown on their worksheets. This activity encouraged them to explore the range of materials on display and to learn more about the College’s history as revealed by these materials.

With the two classes assembled again outside, there was time for some final questions before their walk back to Wyvern House.

This was the third year in a row in which the Wyvern House Year 2 boys have visited the Archives for ‘The Way We Were’. The visits represent the first of what we hope will be many occasions in which these students can engage with our archives and history during their Newington careers.

Mr David Roberts
College Archivist