Moors, Mines, Making, Moulding, Manufacturing and Mission – Year 9 Scholars Yorkshire Trip 2025
The members of the Year 9 Athenaeum have just returned from their residential scholarship visit to West Yorkshire. The aim of the scholarship programme is to think across subjects and hopefully beyond them and to stimulate the student’s curiosity and imagination; this visit certainly did that.
Beginning at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park they not only examined the works of well-known artists such as Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore but also undertook a variety of practical activities exploring the nature of sculpture. The “sound sculpture” was of particular interest and facilitated some moments of mindfulness in an otherwise very hectic schedule. This year we were staying in a different hostel, one located in Malham in the Yorkshire Dales. Although involving a little more travel the scenery was magnificent and the hostel first rate.
The next very full day involved a morning in the Royal Armouries in Leeds with a viewing of an adjacent lock and an enlightening exposition of the weapons of the American West. Then on to Wakefield, to the National Mining Museum and the chance to go underground. The tours led by ex- miners provided so many insights for the students into the technical and physical challenges of mining, the issues around child labour, the importance of the coal and above ground a most informative exhibition told of the social history of mining and its relatively recent demise.
In the afternoon sunshine the group explored the model village of Saltaire and looked at the wide variety of provision laid on for the mill workers by Sir Titus Salt: houses, educational institutes, a dining hall, a Church, a village Hall and a Park! They thought about philanthropy, paternalism and examining Sir Titus’ statue, how things are commemorated. The main mill building now contains a gallery housing on of the biggest collections of David Hockney’s work which the students much enjoyed.
On our last day a morning exploring the Bronte Parsonage was followed by a guided tour of Howarth and a walk onto the moors, with views across the Worth Valley. Our guide expertly explained the importance of the landscape and read from the works of the Bronte sisters as we stood on the windswept hills. Building on work done about the importance of landscape in the novels of the Bronte sisters, the students also considered the importance, or not, of understanding the biographies of authors in order to appreciate their work.
So much was included in a short visit and much of its success was due to the work done by teachers in preparatory sessions before the visit and the engagement of the students whilst on the trip. Hopefully the visit provided interesting insights and experiences but even more opened minds to the possibility of exploration and investigation into things for its own sake and to see how many themes in one subject area are echoed in another.
Read our students’ accounts of the trip below.
On the weekend, we went to Yorkshire for the Year 9 Athenaeum trip. The trip included various different subjects from art, to history and English. When we first arrived, we went for a refreshing trip round the national sculpture park, My favourite moment was looking at The Family of Men, a famous collection of sculptures made by Barbara Hepworth depicting evolution and hierarchy in an aesthetically pleasing hillside arrangement.
Following a busy Friday, we had an even more action-packed Saturday with three trips, going to the royal armouries in Leeds first. We were treated with a expert talking us through several of the most influential guns in the 19th and early 20th centuries building us up to the first machine guns. The morning continued with a trip to the mine museum, where we learn about the history and inevitable decline of what was one of the biggest industries in England.
Finally, we ended the day with a trip to Saltaire, a model industrial settlement on the way back to the youth hostel in Malham nestled in the rolling hills. I still could not get my head around how the land was never flat around Malham, as if it were a duvet, crumpled into a thousand creases with the fields all still in tact despite the slopes and curves. The landscape was highlighted with the stunning sunrises peeking over the hills on one side each morning. They turned the other side of the valley a vivid orange while that end remained green, a memorising contrast seen from a single window.
The final night brought me quick sleep which I embraced until the final morning where we left Malham and headed for my favourite visit of the trip, the Yorkshire Moors. At 450 metres the landscape was alien with an endless blanket of windswept heather a rich maroon. Between the huge flat peaks, deep valleys were engraved which vanished beneath you as you stepped onto the moors. They looked almost continuous, great pale blue contortions, great howling backbones of the country in the distance carrying on as far as the eye could see. It was a landscape so different to anything else I shall not forget it.
On this note, we returned to Eltham College, the vivid image of the moors fresh in my mind as I waved goodbye to my friends and teachers who had made the trip so special.
Bright and early on a Friday morning we headed off on our journey up to Yorkshire. Upon our arrival in the North, we visited the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and had an excellent tour around the grounds by a very knowledgeable tour guide. I found the experience fascinating and it really opened my mind up as to what sculpture really is and what each exhibited sculpture represents. We all had a go at sculpting our own artwork with modelling clay, experimenting with continuous line drawings and sketching what you hear in a piece of ongoing music.
On Saturday we headed down to Leeds to see the locks and canal system. It was surprising to find out that pre-trains many products were transported around by boat. After a very short walk we arrived at the Royal Armouries Museum to take a look at the development of warfare and weaponry throughout time. We completed worksheets based on the exhibits in the museum and watched a thrilling talk on the evolution of typical guns in western films. I found it captivating and enjoyed learning about how guns transformed from being able to shoot 1 bullet every 20 minutes to firing as fast as you can pull the trigger.
Our next stop was the National Coal Mining Museum where we had the opportunity to go down a coal mine and get a first hand insight as to what mining was like from an ex-miner. I learnt that children as young as 5 would be employed in the mines! There was also a well curated exhibition in the museum and we could experience what it was like to be a coal miner by dressing up in their neon orange outfits!
Saltaire was our final destination and we had a thorough look around the rebranded mill – it is now an astonishingly huge book and stationery shop! Mr Cavendish led us on an excellent tour of the park and housing streets. We explored the idea of how being a worker in Saltaire was highly desired, and discussed whether Sir Titus Salt was actually a virtuous person by creating Saltaire or if he was just doing it for the publicity and financial benefits. After a long day out we returned to the youth hostel in Malham to have well deserved rest ahead of the next day of activities.
On Sunday we visited the Brontë parsonage. Almost all of the furniture, artwork and possessions in the house are original Brontë family belongings and it was incredible to see the table that Emily, Charlotte and Anne produced such exquisite literature on and look at the same leatherbound books that they read. Walking round the parsonage was very informative and I was compelled to learn more about the three sisters. We then had a guided tour by an expert who shared his knowledge of the Yorkshire moors, which were so often the inspiration for the Brontë sisters’ work. The landscape was picturesque and the noise the bracken made underfoot was spectacularly crunchy.
Thank you so much to Mr Cavendish for meticulously organising this scholars trip and to the other members of staff for helping to make our experience so
unforgettable.
The scholars’ trip to Yorkshire was definitely one to remember and cherish. The whole of the group actively engaged with the activities really well along with the teachers being caring and helpful to all the students on the trip. My favourite part of the trip was visiting the Royal Armouries at Leeds; the museum was very informative, and I particularly enjoyed the gun show that they hosted, giving the history of guns in the West. The other sections on the trip were also enjoyed by all.
The accommodation – Malham Youth Hostel – was super, with the hospitality being very nice and the friendliness of the staff being much appreciated; on another important note, the food was exceptional with appealing options, and we were permitted to get second servings, which benefited many, me included. I have learned a myriad of different, new things from all the locations that we visited on the trip, and I hope that next year’s scholars can enjoy the experience as much as I did.
The Year 9 scholars trip was a highlight for me as it involved a range of experiences and activities across many subjects all within one action packed long weekend.
On the first day we visited the Yorkshire sculpture park. I particularly liked a series of plastic bags which looked like rabbits, demonstrating the variety and opportunity for creativity using different mediums when sculpting.
On the second day we visited the royal armouries after a beautiful morning within the Yorkshire dales in Malham. There we were lucky to watch a presentation about the Wild West, which was both exciting and informative. Later on that day we went to a mine where we learnt about the history of mining. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and engaging, having worked in a mine.
The final day was the highlight for me as we visited the Brontë parsonage and Yorkshire moors. The view was beautiful and the guide enhanced the experience, taking me back in time to when the Brontë’s strolled those very moors.
I enjoyed the trip a lot and learnt so much about the country and the world around me.
“The scholars trip was an incredibly unique experience. Linking the intricacies of each subject allowed me to see into the scope of all the knowledge I could access.”
“ My favourite part of the trip was most definitely the Brontë Parsonage. This is due to the fact that I had read some of the sisters work previously, and could finally fit all the separate pieces of the puzzle into one grand picture.”
