COMBERTON VILLAGE COLLEGE
In Roman footsteps . . .
THE WONDERS OF ROME: Students took a walking tour which included many of the most famous sights.
The RPE department recently ran our GCSE trip to Rome, on which we explored the philosophical and religious past and present of the Italian capital. As well as being of huge interest, this provided valuable information and experiences supporting the study of RPE at GCSE. The trip included a walking tour of the Roman Forum and Colosseum, where students considered the intersection between the early Church and the ancient Roman world. The group learnt about the transformation of many ancient pagan sites of worship into Christian sites of worship as Christianity gained a foothold in Western thought and societies.
The Pantheon, which students saw during the walking tour which also included the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and Piazza Novena, provided a perfect example of the complex and layered religious and philosophical history of Rome. Furthermore, they visited the Catacombs di Santa Domitilla, which provided another opportunity to explore the history of early Christianity and life in ancient Rome. Finally, we had a guided tour of the Vatican museums, St Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel, all of which were breathtaking in their richness of history and their beauty. The students learnt about the seat of the Catholic Church throughout the last 2000 years to the present
day. Many students held out high hopes of seeing the Pope, however, he must have been having a busy day because there was no sight of him. On top of their tour to the Vatican, students also saw the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, which has held mass every day since the 5th century! The students were a credit to themselves, and it was great to be with them over the three days. Thank you to all of the staff involved with the running of this trip; it wouldn’t have been possible without you. Rebecca Kirby, RPE Department
Famous battle recreated in very different way
Year 7 did a fantastic job of recreating the 1066 Battle of Hastings using Playmobil. Working in groups, they put together six scenes to tell the story of the battle, and their teachers were very impressed by students’ enthusiasm, historical accuracy, and attention to detail!
London trip helps with exam preparation BATTLE LINES: Students work with IT and Playmobil to get their scenes historically accurate.
Year 11 Art and Photography GCSE students had an opportunity to visit the Tate Modern to see the Cezanne exhibition and the permanent collection or the Photographers’ Gallery to see the collection there. The art students visited the Tate collections, while the photography students visited the Gallery.
SKETCHING: Students jot
down ideas
inspired by
the trip.
4
The photographers mixed their exhibitions with a ‘shoot’ in the area around Oxford Street. They were able to collect lots of primary source material for their exam project from the photoshoot. Art students combined visiting and seeing the art works in situ at the Tate with information-gathering for their chosen exam theme. They documented the trip and their chosen artists in their sketchbooks and also had time to sketch ideas inspired by the trip. All of the attending students really benefited from the trip, and it really helped them to start their exam project with this great experience. Those students unable to attend were tasked to complete a double-page spread of a virtual museum of their choice and complete sketches and research for their exam project during their lessons and for homework. After the long break from this sort of visit due to the pandemic, it was great for staff and students to get out and about again.