Primary 2 Visit Carrickfergus Castle

We had SO much fun yesterday at Carrickfergus Castle! It was a fantastic opportunity to explore a real castle that is over 800 years old and learn all about its history!

We became real historians and explorers as we investigated how people lived, worked and stayed safe in a medieval castle. We learned about how the castle builder, John de Courcy, protected the castle from enemies at the gate (sometimes using rather smelly things!), and we even spotted where guards would have sharpened their arrows on the stone many years ago!

We discovered how the castle was carefully designed for defence, learning why the windows at the front of the castle were smaller, while the windows at the back facing the sea were much bigger. We explored the cannons and discussed how they were used to defend the castle.

We visited the kitchen and the Great Hall where we discovered the kinds of food people would have eaten, how meals were prepared, and how important the Great Hall was for gatherings. We learned about celebrations and where important and ‘less important people’ would have sat at banquets.

We looked deep down into the well which supplied water for both the castle and the town and we were very brave climbing the steep spiral staircases to explore the Keep, where we imagined what life would have been like for soldiers and castle guards watching over the land and sea.

The visit gave us a wonderful opportunity to bring all that we had learned about castles over the last term to life in a real place and to deepen our understanding even further through exploring, observing and asking questions.

We especially enjoyed dressing up at the end, which helped bring history to life and finished off a morning full of learning, exploring and fun perfectly!

On the way home, we were so excited to get a great view of our new school being built!

Thank you for a fantastic day, Primary 2!

Mrs McCurry