There’s a huge difference between the way children learn when they go on a school visit and the way that they learn in the classroom.

Aboard H.M.S. Belfast, Year 7 students started their visit on the main deck. Huge guns aboard the vessel attracted everybody’s attention and it was fascinating to see the impact of electronic warfare.

Engine rooms and the living quarters of the sailors and officers aboard the ship were shown in great detail. Our students experienced ‘hands on’ learning of the equipment utilised when the ship was in service and learnt first-hand what life aboard would have been like.

The lifelike models of servicemen in action showed the range of activities that these men were involved in and also the range of emotions that they must have gone through in action.

Our students also learnt what it must have been like to move around from deck to deck in the confined area aboard ship.

This visit to H.M.S. Belfast had the great educational outcome: it not only allowed students to acquire a high level of knowledge about life in the Royal Navy whilst the ship was in service, but also to gain some insight into what life must be like at sea for servicemen and women.

L Mcleod