Our Year 1 pupils recently enjoyed an exciting educational trip to the Young V&A Museum, where they explored the worlds of play, imagination, design and animation.

The visit provided a wonderful opportunity to extend classroom learning beyond the school gates, encouraging children to discover new ideas, express their creativity and learn through hands on experiences.

During their self-guided visit, pupils explored the museum’s permanent galleries, Play, Imagine and Design. These spaces encouraged them to investigate how objects are created, how design influences everyday life and how imagination can turn ideas into reality. The children were able to explore at their own pace, share their discoveries and engage with activities that sparked their curiosity.

A particular highlight was the temporary exhibition, Inside Aardman: Wallace and Gromit and Friends. Celebrating Aardman’s fiftieth anniversary, the exhibition offered a fascinating look behind the scenes of stop motion animation, showing how much creativity, patience and skill goes into bringing characters to life.

Pupils were delighted to discover more about familiar characters, including Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep and Morph. Exploring how clay characters are animated helped the children understand the process behind their favourite stories and introduced them to the exciting relationship between art, design and technology.

The trip also gave pupils the opportunity to learn together, discuss what they had seen and develop their confidence in exploring an unfamiliar environment. Experiences like these help children make meaningful connections between their learning and the wider world.

We are proud of the enthusiasm and curiosity our Year 1 pupils showed throughout the visit. At St Paul’s Way Primary, we believe that inspiring experiences help children discover their interests, develop new skills and recognise the possibilities around them.

This trip reflects our school value of Aspiration, encouraging pupils to think creatively, explore new ideas and develop the confidence to imagine what they might achieve in the future.