Welcome to our adorable testimonials page, filled with messages from students and teachers who have experienced the joy and wonder of the Reading Ancient Schoolroom.
From students
Year 11 students from Farnborough Hill School
‘’Thank you so much, we all had a great time in the ancient school room. It really brought to life everything that we had previously read about Roman schooling and helped us to appreciate just how tough those memorisation exercises were and how difficult it actually is to write well on a wax tablet. All the teachers were very knowledgeable and added extra interest as they chatted readily about the tasks which we completed. It was a unique and enjoyable, educational experience for all.”
Year 5 students from Dolphin School
I really loved doing it. I loved doing the maths best. I wish I could travel back in time to that time!
I really enjoyed the Ancient Schoolroom! The maths was really interesting and I learnt a lot. The papyrus was very difficult but the wax tablet was my favourite. I did a whole poem and rubbing it out was very satisfying.
It was a very enjoyable experience! My favourite part was the maths and writing on a wax tablet. It was really fun and I would do it again.
I enjoyed writing down what was written on the wall on the wax board. I also enjoyed reading from the papyrus and trying to figure out what it said.
I thought that it was really fun. The reading was challenging but I got there in the end. The maths was also fun and I liked moving around the beans. I really liked all of it!
I loved writing on the wax tablet. The counting with the beans was hard but I fun was after you knew how to do it! It was an experience never to forget!
My favourite thing we did was the maths. It was a bit tricky at first because I am not strong on maths or on Roman numerals. I found that without the spaces between the words it was a lot harder to read. It was really fun!
Wax tablet activity
“I liked the wax tablet because I really felt like a Roman child using it.” – year 5
“I liked the wax tablet, as it showed me the way ancient Romans recorded information, and also because it’s therapeutic to carve into a wax tablet.” – year 9
“I liked writing on the wax tablet because it felt like I was making my mark on ancient civilisation and it was fun.” – year 7
“I enjoyed copying out the extract from Julius Caesar on the wax tablet; I had never realised how difficult it was! The fact that they sometimes had to melt the wax and then freeze it again was really interesting.”- year 9
Ostracon activity
“I liked the writing best on a pot, for it gives you an idea of how hard it was.” – year 5
“I liked copying the poems onto the clay; it was really calm and nice.” – year 10
“What did you like best?” “Writing with ink, because it was fun.” – year 9
Maths
“I loved the lesson on mathematics because it was much more practical than the math I’m used to.” – year 5
“What did you like best?” “The maths, because I usually don’t like maths.” – year 5
“What did you like best?” “The maths, because I have never done anything like it and it’s my favourite subject at school.” – year 5
“I liked best the Roman numerals because the teacher was really nice.” – year 4
“What did you like best?” “Doing math, because I found it interesting about how they multiplied the number to get the correct answer, and the task they did.” – year 10
“What did you like best?” Maths because it was difficult but fun when I understood it.” – year 10
“I liked the Roman maths the most because it allowed us to use logic and reasoning whilst learning about how the Romans would do it.” – year 9
“I liked the Roman counting best because it was a very clever way of doing maths.” – year 9
“What did you like best?” “Mathematics – very interesting and challenging – new skill.” – year 9
“What did you like best?” “Maths, it was engaging and took a decent amount of thought.” – year 10
“”I liked maths because I understood it.” – year 8
“I liked the Roman maths because I learned a lot.” – year 8
“I liked the maths best because it was challenging.” – year 9
“I liked maths best because you use old number charts.” – year 5
Roman Graffiti activity
“I liked doing graffiti in Latin.” – year 5
” I liked it when we did the graffiti because we wrote things in Roman and Latin and drew Roman pictures.” – year 5
“I learned how old graffiti is.” – year 5
“I liked the graffiti best because I liked writing with the pens.” – year 5
“What did you like best?” “The quills, because it was challenging.” – year 9
From teachers
“As well as being so much fun to dress up as if they were in Roman Egypt, the girls were amazed at how the classroom worked. The social side of greeting everyone when you arrived, and how patient you had to be to wait to see the teacher! Some were natural with the quill, others not so! And many were distressed by the lack of punctuation! It has brought all of our studies to life, and only increased their passion for the Ancient World.”
“The ancient schoolroom was a really wonderful and unique experience for the students and for the teachers as well. Even as someone who has been studying the ancient world for years, I thought it was an excellent reminder of how different — and difficult — even the relatively simple processes of reading and writing must have been.”
Reading ancient schoolroom 