Trip to Hampton Court Palace

Dear Parents/Guardians,

As part of our topic on the Tudors, which we are currently studying and will be studying again in the spring term, we have arranged a visit to Hampton Court Palace. The visit will take place on Thursday 4th December and will enable the children to experience different aspects of Tudor life, giving them a hands-on insight into the period.

This will be a fantastic opportunity for children to actually see Henry VIII’s magnificent palace. The children will be able to explore the palace and see what it was like to be at court. They will attend a special session led by expert presenters on ‘Court Life’, which has been designed to enhance our school curriculum. During this session, the children will learn more about the lives of the rich and poor at the court of Henry VIII. They will have a guided tour of the surviving palace and investigate the lifestyle of men, women and children who lived and worked there. In addition, the children will visit the working Tudor Kitchens, the King and Queen’s State Apartments as well as the beautiful formal gardens and exhibitions on Young Henry VIII. The children will learn about the vast differences between their lives and the lives of the Tudors.

As we must to arrive by 10.00am to make the most of the day, we will need to leave school at 7.30am. Therefore children need to be in school at 7.15am to be registered. We will depart from the palace at 3.00pm to arrive at school by 5.00pm. This is an estimated time and may vary due to traffic.

This trip will be combined with a visit from History Off the Page, ‘A Tudor Christmas’ to our school. This will be for one day on Tuesday 9th December. The children are encouraged to dress-up as Tudors for this day. The school hall will be transformed into a Tudor household preparing for Christmas celebrations – 24th December 1536. The children will take part in role-play activities and several workshops, such as going to a Tudor school, making soap balls, tooling leather and experiencing an archaeological dig. The day will be concluded with a Tudor Christmas festive banquet, where the children will eat bread and drink blackcurrant juice out of goblets (to represent wine!). Please indicate on the attached medical form if your child has any allergies.

The total cost for both Tudor experiences will be £26. Although we realise that this is a great deal of money, we hope that you will recognise both the educational value, and the enjoyment of the children. Unfortunately, the cost of fuel has made the trip more expensive. In addition the cost may increase slightly if less children participate. More trips will be arranged for later in the school year. The maximum total cost for all, including the Tudor experience will not exceed £45. Payment by instalments can be arranged; however the £26 needs to be paid by Friday 24th October. Please speak to your child’s teacher or indicate on the form below if you would like us to send a payment card home. In Year 4, we will not be going on a residential trip. The children have the opportunity to attend residential visits in the upper school. As a school, we are also seeking funding to help towards trip costs, which if granted, will lower the maximum cost of £45.

We have attached a medical form, which must be completed before the trip in order for your child to attend. This is a very detailed document and all questions must be answered. If you would like help filling this in, please do not hesitate to ask your child’s class teacher. All paperwork attached to trips is shredded when the visit is over, so confidential information is destroyed and up to date information is obtained when needed. We would ask that all monies and paperwork are returned to school no later than Friday 24th October so that final numbers can be counted and appropriate adult supervision arranged.

A further letter will be sent closer to the date of visit, with full itineraries and kit lists. Mobile phones will not be allowed. Class teachers will take cameras for school use.

We will need parental help for the visit to Hampton Court as well as the Tudor Christmas at school. Spaces will be allocated to parents on a first come, first served basis. Please that you indicate below when returning the permission slip.

Thank you for your support.

Yours sincerely



Miss Cleveley Ms Norman Mrs Fry