MEDICAL EXPLORATION

On Tuesday 7th March, Year 11 History students took an educational trip to the Thackray Museum of Medicine as part of the GCSE ‘Health and the People’ course. The museum, located in Leeds, boasts a variety of unique exhibits that explore the development of treatments, surgery and public health through time.

In the morning, we took part in an interactive revision workshop in which we studied sources and artefacts that dated from as early as the Hippocratic Oath. Working in teams, we explored sources and consolidated our knowledge on the treatment of disease, pioneering individuals and government interventions.

After lunch, we were able to explore the rest of the museum and visited various exhibits such as an apothecary room with the earliest jars being constructed during the medieval period. Here, we investigated many herbs that have been used through history and discovered that some are still used today, but others that are not due to their harmful side effects. We then moved on to the ‘Cutting Edge’ exhibition in which we viewed a wide collection of surgical tools and innovations that had been developed throughout the ages and we were fascinated to see how they had adapted and evolved into the techniques used in modern surgery.

SILVER

The highlight of our day was the trip through ‘Disease Street’. This was an immersive experience in which we could wander through a replica of the grimy streets of Victorian Leeds and experience the sights, sounds and smells. Whilst on our journey through the street, we followed a character’s story and learned about the challenges they faced throughout their lifetime.

BRONZE

of English

MR CHRIS LAMBERT Teacher