Berlin trip brings History to life
8th April 25
Year 10s studying GCSE History travelled to Berlin during Spring Term to experience some of the city’s historic sites.
The trip brought new depth to their learnings on The Cold War, with visits to landmarks including the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie and the Berlin Wall.
They also visited the Stasi Museum, where political prisoners and those who tried to leave East Germany were held, and learnt about attempts to escape the communist state via the city’s sewer network and underground tunnels.
Another highlight was a visit to the German Spy Museum. Here students immersed themselves in the world of espionage, attempting to decode messages and navigate through a laser maze.
With the visit occurring during a public transport strike, students clocked up over 30,000 steps a day – and seeing the city by foot brought with it benefits.
“There was so much history everywhere we went,” shared Aima C. “Leon [Whitham, Head of History] would often stop us and talk a little about the significance of a monument or explain what happened in a particular spot.
“It was so helpful to see things we’d learnt about in lessons with our own eyes – it pulled everything together and brought the learning to life.”
The deeper learning experience will serve students well as they head into their mock exams in June. “Seeing the sites first-hand will definitely help me to recall information,” shared Coco F.
The group’s travel challenges continued when their return flight was cancelled owing to the substation fire that closed Heathrow airport. However, they seized the opportunity afforded by an additional 24 hours away from home, spending time exploring significant World War II site, including the city’s Holocaust Memorial.
“Being delayed was a bit frustrating at first, but we made the most of it. The teachers dealt with it really well and made a difficult situation fun for us,” says Aima.
Finding ways to make learning fun is core to The King Alfred School’s educational approach, and this shines through in students’ enthusiasm for their subjects. “It’s cool to be historically knowledgeable,” shares Coco. “Even if I wasn’t taking History as a GCSE, I’d still want to learn about it.”
“History is part of the world’s story,” adds Aima. “I feel it’s important to be educated about the horrible things that have happened in the past to stop them repeating in the future.”
See more pictures from the trip below. Click to learn more about the range of GCSE options in Years 10 & 11 at The King Alfred School, including our School-Directed Courses.
