19 Jul Trip Back to History: Houses of Parliament & the Natural History Museum
Written by Ellaha and Mekriban – Year 10 student reporters
Edited by Mrs Nguyen
Friday 6th May 2022: the first Whitley Academy trip to London in over two years. The 30 lucky students had the opportunity to visit the Houses of Parliament: the Home to 1000 years of political change and the National History Museum: a place of ancient documentation of Science.
The trip had been in the planning for over five months with the students contributing to make the trip more enjoyable. After months of planning, Mrs. Nguyen, Mr. Billyeald and Miss Oughton-Jones were prepared to take the students on a day trip that all would remember for a long time.
At 10:20 am, we arrived at the bustling Euston Station where Londoners were hustling in and out trying to catch their trains. We hurriedly walked out of the last underground station and admired Westminster buildings as we headed to the world famous Houses of Parliament.
Upon entering this 1000-year-old historical building we saw the famous Oliver Cromwell statue on display at Cromwell Square, where he changed history by going against King Charles I in 1646. Later on, we learnt that Oliver Cromwell’s statue is there to symbolise the formation and status of Parliament and its separation from a Constitutional Monarch.
Going through the final security checks we set foot on an amazing paradise garden where when we looked up, we could see the prominent golden Big Ben. We were amazed at this larger-than-life wonder!
Coming into this ever-changing political place where coronations for kings and queens took place: the Westminster Hall, we felt emotional to be able to stand here in this historic building. It is one of the oldest buildings in Parliament which survives in almost its original form, after all. Walking along the Hall and up these ancient stairs, we saw metal plates engraved in stone, naming eminent world leaders who have been well-known for what they have contributed to the lives of the masses: Sir Winston Churchill, President Barack Obama, Queen Elizabeth II, to name but a few.
Do you know that…
Westminster Hall is the oldest building in Parliament and almost the only part of the ancient Palace of Westminster which survives in almost its original form?
The Hall was enclosed with stone walls fully two metres, or six feet thick; these largely remain today, though heightened and refaced?
Inside the Westminster Hall was an arcade with large arches and windows and a wall passage around all four sides?
Passing through St Stephen’s Hall heading up to the Central Lobby, we stopped to look around the hugely spacious Lobby which is the mid-point between the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
In the Central Lobby, we saw 649 pigeonholes with coloured stickers to represent what party the selected MPs (a.k.a Members of Parliament) are from; so for example the blue stickers represent the Conservatives, the red stickers are for Labour MPs; hence it is obvious that the dominating colour currently is blue! There are only 649 pigeonholes as the Prime Minister Mr Boris Johnson would have messages delivered to him personally.
To make it clear, pigeonholes are little slots where messages are put in for each MP.
Going into the House of Commons was such a surreal moment for us all as we could imagine the MPs debating bills for the country. On the right wing leading to the House of Commons Chamber rows of green and thick books were shelved. Later we learnt that they are named Hansard and contained everything all the MPs said over the years. It would take a lot of time to read through a volume of the whole collection J.
As soon as we entered the Chamber, rows upon rows of green seats were on display in front of our eyes. There are the seats for not only our elected MPs but also for our own Prime Minister, Mr. Boris Johnson.
Right in the middle of the Chamber, not far from the public entrance, you could easily see a large wooden green chair where the Speaker of the House sits, throughout the Chamber the Speaker’s presence echoed. Above these chairs were lines of small microphones hung from the high ceilings, and at the back of the chairs were the small speakers hidden amongst other wooden decorations.
On the other side of Parliament was the House of Lords where the dominating colour was red. Unfortunately for us, we could not go into the Chamber as a lot of preparation was going on making sure everything was ready for the State Opening of the Queen’s visit on Tuesday morning the following week. We then learnt that The Queen would listen to different Lords’ speeches and read out a speech in front of the public announcing new bills.
You may assume that being a Lord has something to do with the royal family, but it is the complete opposite. We were incredibly surprised to learn that many Lords have their own jobs, in different sectors such as making laws and public policy.
On leaving the Houses of Parliament we felt very thankful for the work of the Education Team whose work made it possible for us to be there and to experience the real History lesson. The whole hour of guided tour was very interactive and fun, there was so much about the history to learn. It was even more special when we realised that we were one of their first few schools touring House of Parliament after the Covid lockdowns.
Onward journey to the Natural History Museum…
1:30pm – it was time to make our way to the second part of the trip: The Natural History Museum. Upon our arrival, we went to the Picnic Area located on the Ground Floor of the building to eat and socialise with our friends.
After, we split into our smaller groups and went on to explore the Museum. We were with Mrs Nguyen and started off at the top floor which we admit was a great idea due to the long flights of steps that we all know no one wanted to climb. The top floor of the Museum has the giant sequoia which was fascinating to look at.
The 1st floor is the shiniest of all floors as it is filled with crystals and gems from around the world! At the end of the room, there is a spacious room named ‘The Vault’ which is full of some of nature’s most unique and valuable treasures. Upon entering the room, we were covered in dim light with only the crystals illuminating through their displays! It was magical to wander around the room.
The ground floor was our personal favourite! Walking down the stairs to the floor was a fabulous experience as we were welcomed by a blue whale skeleton hung on the high ceiling of the building. It felt as if the skeleton were the owner of the museum through the way it was glancing down at everyone in its dominating stare!
The gift shop was also located on this floor, which was filled with several types of crystals, plush toys, necklaces, keychains, sweets, and anything else that you could imagine.
On our onward journey, we spent some time to look at volcanoes and earthquake exhibitions. This room was full of interactive games and facts about natural disasters, but the thing that stood out to us was the Kobe Supermarket Earthquake simulator. The Kobe Supermarket Earthquake simulator is a way for the public to experience what earthquake victims’ face: you step into this open room which looks exactly like a supermarket. There are monitors positioned around the room which tell you what stage of the earthquake you are experiencing. When the simulation starts, the room starts to sway to side to side which makes some lose their balance, luckily there are metal railings to catch you!
The one hour journey back to Coventry made us full of emotion and reflection: a sense of satisfaction on finishing the trip on such a high note and we have learnt so much on the day. As we enjoyed the experience so much, we felt the time went by just like ‘a blink of a human eye!’
We are incredibly grateful to the teachers for going the extra mile to give us this amazing experience that will stay with us for years to come.
Whitley Academy June 2022
