Workshops

Workshops are practical activities that are designed to complement the trails and to give the pupils the opportunity to make something which they can take home with them, or something that could be used for follow-up work at school.
The workshops take place in the Education Centre and last for approximately 75 minutes. Pupils generally work as a whole class for the activities and all equipment is provided.

Workshops we offer include:

Illuminated Manuscripts

How were books produced in the days before the printing press? How did people write with feathers?

Pupils are invited to write with quill pens and prepare their own quarto and octavo books. They also have the opportunity to produce their own inks and piece of illuminated manuscript.

Medieval Medicine

Why did the canons who lived in the Priory of St Mary Overy establish St Thomas' Hospital to care for the sick? How were 'medicines' produced in the age of Chaucer?

Pupils have the opportunity to discover the answers to these and many other questions and to prepare their own remedies to minor ailments.

Architecture

Are you studying architecture?

Would you like to bring your students to the cathedral to enhance their appreciation and understanding? Contact the Education Officer to discuss how a visit could support the curriculum.

Trails

Trails are themed tours which take place in the Cathedral. Pupils are involved by the use of questioning, role play and costume. The trails last for approximately 75 minutes and generally relate to events in the Cathedral's rich history.

The trails we offer are:

Faith in the Twenty-first Century (Citizenship, English, RE)

This trail focuses on the stories buildings can tell us and affords young people the opportunity to discuss some of life's important issues. e.g. should people's beliefs influence the way they live? Why does music have such an effect on us?

200 Years of Poverty and Wealth in Southwark (RE/History KS3/4)

How would you define poverty? How would you define wealth? Is it having a big house, a big car, a well-paid job, regular holidays and an ever-changing wardrobe of clothes? Or is it having a permanent address, accommodation of more than one room and a bathroom?

The answer will differ depending on your own experience, but what is true is that extremes of poverty and wealth co-exist, and though we are one society this is one of the factors that can divide us.

The division of rich and poor has always been with us, and by focusing on Christianity pupils will be given the opportunity to explore the inequality of wealth in Southwark over two centuries and to examine the response of religion. In addition, students will have the time to reflect on:

'The acceptability or otherwise of the inequality of wealth and a religious response to the issue of poverty and wealth, acknowledging the needs of others.'

A variety of different resources will be used including Charles Booth's Map of London Poverty, and guest speakers from charities such as the Manna Centre and CRISIS will speak about their work with those in our society who are in need today.

Dissolution of a Priory (History KS3)

How were people affected by the changes in the church instigated by Henry VIII? What were the long term effects of these changes? Did these changes amount to progress and was this progress for all or just a few?

Pupils have an opportunity to gain an insight in to the life of the Priory before Henry VIII's commissioners begin their investigations of religious houses.

Using source material and role play they take on the role of one of the Canons and construct their own argument for why the Priory should escape dissolution.

Signs and Symbols and Cathedral Life (RE KS3/4)

What should a first time visitor to a Cathedral find out during their visit? Why is a Cathedral an important building? Who is it important to?

In this activity pupils discover the Cathedral with a focus on the history of the building, the style of worship used and the furniture and the symbolism contained within it. The ultimate task is being to plan a visit to the Cathedral for an interfaith group which has had no previous experience of a Christian building.

There will be an opportunity to 'interview' a member of the clergy during the visit to enhance the pupils' understanding of the importance of the Cathedral to the people who work and worship there.

Geography & Science Investigations

What is Southwark Cathedral made of? How does it affect its environment? How does the environment affect it?

Pupils use observational skills to perform map work and assess how the Cathedral has changed over the centuries. They then undertake surveys of the Cathedral surroundings today considering how it might change further and how we can prevent negative change. There is the chance to look at building materials and perform experiments to see how those materials would react to adverse weather conditions. The skills used on the day could then be taken back to school and applied to the school environment.

What effect does a bus have on the Cathedral?

Through surveys and experiments, pupils can analyse the evidence and draw their own conclusions about how people can improve or damage the environment.