Workshops

Students from Invicta Grammar School were to be seen 'strutting their Tudor stuff' in the school's Drama Studio, this January, as they put into practice the skills they had acquired in Tudor courtly dancing.The workshop began with an introduction to the complex etiquette of courtly dance. Gentlemen were required to be extremely courteous to their partners, bowing profusely, doffing their hats and escorting ladies to and from the dance floor. For many Tudor men and women it was an opportunity to enjoy a brief moment of physical contact with the opposite sex - although this generally amounted to little more than holding hands.Students were then taken through the different styles of dance of the time. This included the Volta, one of Elizabeth I's personal favourites, where the gentleman dancer launched his female partner high in the air and twirling her round as she went. An excerpt from a classic BBC serialization of the life of Elizabeth starring Glenda Jackson illustrated this move very well.Students then formed pairs or small groups of 4 to 6, and created their own dance routines inspired by the examples they had seen. Mr. Higgins and Miss Allison were extremely impressed by the historical accuracy of some of the steps that students came up with and the way they cleverly matched the Tudor music played to accompany them. Finally, prizes were awarded to the best examples - the perfect end to what was an extremely popular and fascinating insight into dance of the period. E.J., 8a

Medieval stained glass windows

In the run up to Christmas, Key Stage Three pupils were treated to the chance of making medieval stained glass windows. Using templates copied from authentic medieval designs, pupils were able to recreate stained glass windows similar to those that would have graced every parish church, monastery and cathedral in the country. The technique uses special paints that harden when dry and can be peeled off and attached to windows. While students were working on their own designs, a special PowerPoint display showing examples of medieval glass and music from the period helped them get into the feel of being medieval glaziers, if only for a couple of lunchtimes a week! The results of their work were displayed around the History department and photos of some of the best are included here.



Select a template and place it inside a plastic envelope	Apply the borders in thick black leading	Allow to dry and colour in with special paints



Peel off when dry	Apply to any window	You can achieve a similar effect using tissue paper and card

Medieval wax seals

On Tuesday 23rd November there was a History club during lunch time, where the people that attended made their very own wax seals. Some of you may be thinking what are they well they are have the same purpose as signatures and they were used from medieval period until sometime during Victorian times. However no wax seal is the same as another. They are an oval or circle shape that is made of wax. The people at the club made their own wax seals after having a demonstration about them by Giles Guthrie, the Curator of Human History at Maidstone Museum, who showed us some real ones. We made them by getting some plastercine and rolling it up into a ball and then crushing it so we obtained an oval shape. After that we made our own personal indent in the plastercine and finally put a border on the outside of the seal so that Mr Higgins and Miss Lane could add plaster to the inside of it. When the plaster had set we then took it out the plastercine and the plaster formed a wax seal. We didn't make them out of wax because it is not as strong as plaster and won't last as long. Everyone there had fun as well as me. I would also like to thank Mr Higgins, Miss Lane and Mr Guthrie for organising this club because we all had a tremendous amount of fun. Thanks again S.S., Year 7



Finished seals made by students before the plaster is added	An examples of one of the authentic seals brought in by Giles Guthrie	Giles Guthrie explains the differences between seals to students

	Knight's Challenge

"You've got 10 metres of kitchen foil and ten minutes to do it in ... make a medieval suit of armour!"

The latest History workshop was an unsual challenge. Students were shown a drawing of a medieval knight in armour. They learned the names of the different parts of the armour - the jupon, the vambrace, the bascinet and so on. They then had just ten minutes to recreate the same armour as authentically as possible using just 10 metres of kitchen foil. It must be said that not all the finished suits of armour looked as if they would stand up to a jousting match, but there were some very creditable attempts. Special congratulations go to the Year 13s who joined in and really got into the spirit of the workshop.



A Year 13 knight in shining tin foil!	www.library.thinkquest.org - armour	Click on the knight above to learn more about the different parts of his armour or try the interactive game at the site below

Trebuchet challenge

Ever wanted to build and shoot your own medieval catapult? Well that's what Key Stage Three students got up to one lunchtime. They were shown the design of a medieval siege engine called a trebuchet and then given a matchbox, rubber band and a pair of scissors and set the task of building a working model. After 15 minutes the catapults were put through their paces to see which could fire a miniature boulder the furthest. The winning trebuchet measured a heft 1m 30 cms!



Here's one I made earlier	The challenge is on	Finishing touches

Try this online trebuchet challenge


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	Grotesque gargoyles
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	The famous 'spitting gargoyle' featured in Disney's 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'

Bizarre, mishapen heads. Augly deformed bodies. No I'm not describing staff at Invicta Grammar School, but the medieval gargoyles being produced during this lunchtime History workshop. Students learned about these mysterious creatures that adorn the outside of medieval churches and buildings. They served a variety of functions from warding off evil spirits to acting as water spouts to shoot rainwater away from the building onto unwary passers-by below. Although gargoyles take on many forms, human, animal and even vegetable, we decided to have a crack a re-creating the famous 'spitting gargoyle' from the facade (front) of Notre Dame Cathdral in Paris. Take a look at our efforts below.


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	Click here for a presentation on the history & meaning of gargoyles

Battle of Hastings

This October the History & Drama departments put on a combined lunchtime workshop exploring the Battle of Hastings. Students were given the outline of the story and shown images from the Bayeux Tapestry. The Tapestry was produced after the Battle to celebrate William, Duke of Normandy's victory over the Anglo-Saxons, led by Harold Godwinson. Students were told to begin and end a short improvisation with a freeze-frame image or tableau from a section of the Tapestry. When all the tableaux were put together the idea was that it would retell the story of the Battle of Hastings. Students were given just a few minutes to rehearse, and then they got into a massive circle and enacted their section of the story. The results were very effective, especially those students who created bold and imaginative tableaux, that really brought the past to life!

Did you know? The Bayeux Tapestry is not a tapestry (something woven, like a carpet), but an embroidery (something sewn, like the initials on your Dad's hankies) It includes 623 people, 202 horses, 41 ships and 55 dogs There are more than 500 mythical creatures along the borders There are more than 2000 words It is made of a piece of linen (similar to tablecloth material), over 70 metres long, so it's about the length of 3 swimming pools!


Students from Invicta Grammar School were to be seen 'strutting their Tudor stuff' in the school's Drama Studio, this January, as they put into practice the skills they had acquired in Tudor courtly dancing.The workshop began with an introduction to the complex etiquette of courtly dance. Gentlemen were required to be extremely courteous to their partners, bowing profusely, doffing their hats and escorting ladies to and from the dance floor. For many Tudor men and women it was an opportunity to enjoy a brief moment of physical contact with the opposite sex - although this generally amounted to little more than holding hands.Students were then taken through the different styles of dance of the time. This included the Volta, one of Elizabeth I's personal favourites, where the gentleman dancer launched his female partner high in the air and twirling her round as she went. An excerpt from a classic BBC serialization of the life of Elizabeth starring Glenda Jackson illustrated this move very well.Students then formed pairs or small groups of 4 to 6, and created their own dance routines inspired by the examples they had seen. Mr. Higgins and Miss Allison were extremely impressed by the historical accuracy of some of the steps that students came up with and the way they cleverly matched the Tudor music played to accompany them. Finally, prizes were awarded to the best examples - the perfect end to what was an extremely popular and fascinating insight into dance of the period. E.J., 8a


	To find out more about Tudor dance steps click below for a short booklet on the art of Tudor dancing



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Elizabethan makeover

Students were able to find out what women and men did to beautify themselves in Tudor times during a recent workshop on Elizabethan makeup. Girls at Invicta were taught about the different cosmetics used to create the typically pale skin and red lips of Elizabethan portraits. Ingredients such as white lead (which is actually poisonous) and crushed beatle shells were used. Male actors also used make up to play female parts in some of the most popular plays of the day. Imagine Juliet being played by men in make up! The team which came up with the most authentic makeover won a prize, while another group of girls gave Mr Gadd a makeover as if he were a Shakespearean actor playing a female role.


Theatrical make-up to immitate 'white lead' is applied	The finished product, with auburn hair and Tudor ruff	Mr Gad reminds us that it was men not women who would have played the parts of women

	Click below to download a booklet on Elizabethan makeup

Mr Higgins and Miss Allison recently cooked up a feast of fun and food as they set up a lunchtime workshop of tasting delicious Tudor food. Like most things they have produced it was a complete success for many people showed up and did the hour's worth of super fun. At the beginning we tasted marzipan and Tudor biscuits called 'Jumbles' (see the recipe in this section). The lunch time period carried on tastily until we got to half way, this is when we had to use marzipan to create a Tudor rose, the symbol of the Tudor family. Towards the end, pictures were taken of all of us around our brilliantly made Tudor roses as Mr Beamish announced the winners. Nearing the end of the super lunchtime we tidied up and left the classroom eating our Tudor roses on the way back to our form rooms for registration. Written by A.T., 8i



Tudor 'jumbles' - yum!	Potato biscuits	Marzipan sweets

	For some scrumy Tudor recipes to try at home click on the icon below


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Georgian fans

In Georgian times, fans served a variety of functions. On warm summer nights, when hundreds of young couples, wearing heavy, restrictive clothes, were packed into dances, a fan was a necessary from of air-conditioning. From their decoration, fans also signalled where the owner had travelled to, their political allegiance and of course their social status. Fans users also evolved a complex form of signalling, to indicate their amorous intentions across a crowded dance floor without being detected by their chaperones or any unwanted rival suitors. Click below for a short booklet on the secret language of Georgian fans


When we made the fans first we had to get the slats made by drawing them on a piece of card: 1cm at the top and 3cms at the bottom (fig. 1). You then cut them out (fig.2) and punch a hole at the bottom of each slat (fig.3). Stick them onto greaseproof paper into the shape of a semi-circle with a smaller semicircle cut at the base (fig.4). Then once they have been stuck on, fold them like a concertina (fig.5) and thread through the coloured ribbon (fig.6) and it makes it look more effective. With the pinking scissors you can decorate it and colour it in. H.S. 8A



Fig 1	Fig 2	Fig 3



Fig 4	Fig 5	Fig 6

	Historic Valentine's Cards

This Valentines Day, Key Stage Three students were given the chance to create their own authentic silhouette cards. The idea goes back to the miserly French Finance Minister, Etienne de Silhouette, who wishing to save a few francs on the cost of having his portrait painted commissioned a black profile of himself instead. The Parisian aristocracy thought this was very chic, and the idea caught on. Soon everyone was commissioning their very own Silhouettes(as the cheapskate portraits became known). Even Queen Victoria had one done and apparently was quite amused! Invicta students produced silhouettes of each other, animals or shapes. The results of their efforts will shortly be published on the Invicta History website. One student even attempted to capture her teacher, Mr Higgins, in silhouette, but sadly the results were less than satisfactory. Sometimes the most beautiful models defy even the greatest of artists!


Students making the cards	Finished items	Can you gues what the 'V & A' stands for?

Female Pirates of the Caribbean

The History and English Departments recently put on their first joint lunchtime workshop entitled Female Pirates of the Caribbean. The aim was to provide students with the opportunity to explore an aspect of their work on the sea (which they study in English at Key Stage Three) in a fun and interactive way and hopefully learn a little more about real-life pirates of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Students were shown a trailer from the blockbuster hit,Pirates of the Caribbean and afterwards discussed some of the features of a successful trailer fast editing, atmospheric music, well-chosen scenes and of course that deep American voiceover, Coming soon at a cinema near you!. The girls then got into groups of 4 or 5 to read about historical female pirates who roamed the seas in search of just as much booty and adventure as their male counterparts. Women such as Anne Bonny and Mary Read who had to disguise themselves in boys clothes to become buccaneers and who only managed to escape the hangman's noose by pleading their bellies(i.e. saying they were pregnant). They also found out about the indomitable Irish pirate, Grace O'Malley who fought off attackers so ferociously that sailors in the British Navy assumed she was a ghost, and who so impressed Queen Elizabeth I with her fearlessness she was prepared to grant her mercy. Finally, the girls devised and presented a 2 minute Hollywood-style trailer for a movie based on the life of one of these piratical personalities and then voted on the eventual winner. The quality of the entrants was so strong it was decided by a special student-teacher panel of judges to award two first prizes, sadly not a case of Spanish doubloons but a bar of Swiss chocolate instead. The losers can thinks themselves lucky they weren't asked to walk the plank!



	Mary Read, one of several infamous female pirates from the past



Steamed date pudding	Jam tarts made with potato pastry	Apple cocada


For more information about rationing, recipes and life on the Home Front during World War Two visit the following sites: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/ww2/C1168 http://www.annabella.net/wartime.html



	Harold gets it in the eye!

Tudor Food Tasting