Heroes at Highclere

On Sunday 16th October The Earl and Countess of Carnarvon kindly invited the whole of the penultimate year to a special Heroes at Highclere day at Highclere Castle.
The day began with breakfast in the castle's hall, where the boys were thrilled to find Top Gear's Richard Hammond, who amenably wrote numerous autographs on scraps of paper.
Joey, the fabulous life-sized wooden puppet star of the play War Horse made his dramatic entrance and the boys were stunned by his realism and the skill of his puppeteer crew.
Next, we attended a moving service led by Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury.
Following this, the boys split into groups to explore the enormous range of activities on offer that were spread throughout the castle grounds. Activities were arranged for the boys by Sharky & George including laser tag and a gigantic slingshot firing water-bombs.
The Royal Air Force booth proved exceptionally popular and the boys loved the flypast of both historic and more recent aircraft.
A Chinook helicopter, Army fitness display team and hundreds of historical re-enactors dressed in period costumes meant there was never a dull moment.
The staff enjoyed the Downton Abbey exhibition and the eagle-eyed amongst us spotted Hugh Bonneville and other cast members enjoying the day, too.
A visit to the army tents behind the castle gave the boys the opportunity to hear about what life was really like for soldiers during the two world wars: some gruesome stories coupled with the chance to handle weaponry made for a memorable time for many.
It was a very happy troupe of boys that arrived back in school in time for tea: many, many thanks to our hosts for a marvellous day out.

Further pictures of the day are here.