Year 5 Explore Tudor History at the Mary Rose Museum

Last week, Year 5 enjoyed a memorable and enriching visit to the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth, bringing their Tudor studies vividly to life. The day was packed with hands-on learning, immersive experiences, and fascinating insights into life aboard King Henry VIII’s flagship.

The morning began with the engaging “Fighting Fit” workshop, where pupils stepped into the shoes of Tudor sailors and soldiers. Through interactive activities, they explored the demanding physical routines of the crew, the importance of diet and health at sea, and the roles played by different members of the ship’s company. Pupils also tested their own agility, discovering just how “fighting fit” they would have needed to be on a 16th-century warship.

After lunch, the excitement continued with the museum’s spectacular 4D cinema experience, which transported pupils back to the dramatic moment when the Mary Rose was raised from the seabed in 1982. With atmospheric sound, motion, and visual effects, students gained a powerful sense of the scale, difficulty, and historical significance of the recovery operation.

The day concluded with a guided tour of the museum, where pupils explored an extraordinary range of exhibits that shed light on Tudor life both at sea and on land. Highlights included the meticulously preserved hull of the Mary Rose, the skeleton of the carpenter’s dog, the ship’s surgeon and the medical tools used to care for the crew, and the cannon and cannon shot that demonstrated the firepower aboard the warship. Pupils were captivated by personal belongings such as wooden dishes, shoes, and combs, which revealed real human stories from more than 470 years ago.

It was a day filled with curiosity, discovery, and awe. Year 5 returned to school inspired and eager to deepen their understanding of Tudor history.