This week, Year 5 have been learning all about the Magna Carta which King John was forced to sign by his barons in 1215. After learning about how crime and punishment was very varied back in the early Middle Ages, the children could see why the barons of our land needed to make laws fairer and create courts of justice. The children researched in class why King John was unpopular at the time and why the barons needed him to sign new rules at Runnymede in Surrey.

We also looked at the Feudal System in great deal and the children even played the parts of the different social classes: peasants, knights, barons and the king. The legend of Robin Hood was used to explain this difference in social class and power and we matched up the different characters to what role they would have played in society at that time.

The children also had to make a modern set of Magna Carta style rules for school, as they were given the pretend scenario that Mrs LePoidevin needed to update her school rules. To get to this stage, the children had great fun in their talk partners, making up silly unfair school rules like King John would have imposed on our country, to then correct and make fairer. This they did very well and in the style of the Magna Carta set of rules.