All of Years 4 and 5 travelled down to Watford on Thursday for the first junior visit to Harry Potter Studio tour at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden.
On a long coach journey, the boys entertained themselves with games of Harry Potter top trumps and Uno to pass the time before arriving in Watford for the regulation school trip game of bowling at Hollywood Bowl.
As usual, Mr Spinks won the staff competition (with Mrs Thompkins a close second!), whilst Aiden M won the boys’ competition, with Owen G and Shinpei T narrowly defeated.
They then arrived at their accommodation at London Lee Valley and ate a hearty evening meal of ‘bangers and mash’ before settling down in a common area with popcorn, crisps and drinks to watch Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone ahead of their trip the next day.
After a welcome lie-in and a fantastic breakfast, they collected packed lunches and travelled back to Watford for the main part of the trip. Stopping off at the fantastic Cassiobury Park to blow off some steam and get rid of pent-up energy from the long bus journey, they then travelled to Leavesden to begin the tour of Harry Potter Studios.
They began with an excellent session, delivered by two Warner Bros. teachers (one of whom had worked on the films during filming), learning about how to write exciting and engaging screenplays. The boys were able to work in groups, using actual props from the Harry Potter films, to plan and pitch their own film plots.
After that excellent lesson, they began the tour and were amazed at the size and spectacle of the props, costumes and sets that were on display. The boys saw almost everything from the Harry Potter films, from the bath taps from the Room of Requirement to the moving staircases and the new Gringott’s exhibition, equipped with both huge chandeliers and a cinematic dragon to destroy them.
After posing in front of all manner of sets, including Dumbledore’s office, the Hogwarts Bridge and the Knight Bus and Hogwarts Express, the group flew around the gift shop buying presents and souvenirs – wands as always being a firm favourite (the Elder Wand was even on sale!)
Finally, the tired troupe boarded the bus and began the long journey home, watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets en route to the service station meal and eventually returned to school at midnight. The boys had a fantastic time, were superb ambassadors for the school as always. The trip itself will live long in the memory, also helping the boys to imagine the settings of the book as they continue to read it in their English lessons.