Most of us know the story of Harry Potter, an orphan boy who discovers that he’s a wizard and goes to a boarding school between the ages of 11 and 17, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He takes a variety of lessons, from potions to charms to Defence Against the Dark Arts. He also plays the popular wizarding sport of Quidditch as a seeker. Eventually he defeats an evil dark wizard named Lord Voldemort, but we won’t focus too much on that part!
Hogwarts came to our Junior School
This term Hogwarts came to our Junior School! The main corridor is transformed with floating candles, modelled on the Hogwarts Great Hall. Mrs Freer’s classroom is now the Potions classroom. Mrs Watson’s classroom is doubling as the Forbidden Forest . . . perhaps you noticed the branches all around the door? Mrs Creighton-Lee’s classroom is Hufflepuff Tower, and Miss Vincent-Jones’ has been papered with bricks and portraits to reflect the Gryffindor Common Room. There’s even a picture of the Golden Trio (Harry, Ron and Hermione) on the wall! The staff room is still the staff room, but it has a picture of the Fat Lady, who is the guardian of the Gryffindor Tower, asking for a password on the door. As if that were not enough. . . . the playground is now a Quidditch Pitch, complete with broomsticks!
Term Begins
Before term began each student received a personalised invitation to the Fyling Hall School of Magic . . . students have never been so excited to return to school! Invited to wear a black cloak, students received strict instructions to arrive at the Grand Dining Room. Here they were met by our transformed Junior School staff who were of course, dressed like true Hogwarts professors. With most of the children wearing capes and hats, they were sorted into Hogwarts Houses (Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin) by a real sorting hat, with a helping hand from Hagrid the Hogwarts gamekeeper. They were then escorted over to the Junior School for the big reveal. . . . you can just imagine their faces! Check out our YouTube channel for a little look . . . FHS YouTube.
Spirit of Hogwarts
Staying in the spirit of Hogwarts, the children have been playing Quidditch on brooms, creating potions and making lightbulbs change colour . . . magically of course! For the rest of the week, the children will perform magic-inspired science experiments, e.g. turning ‘wine’ into ‘water’ and making symbols burn into being from thin air. They will also design sweets for Honeydukes Sweet Shop, create spells and potions, discover our animagi and write down our new House Rules. In Friday’s Forest School, the children will make wands and broomsticks.
Over the course of the term, students will take part in several Harry Potter based field trips. Perhaps the most exciting is a journey to Pickering Castle on the steam train from Goathland, where the first Harry Potter film was made! Also planned is a visit by an Owl Sanctuary as Hedwig was Harry Potter’s pet owl. Our clever Mrs Freer has also tied the theme into the choral speaking for the Eskdale Festival!
A School of Magic has truly come alive!