It was a magical and memorable day as children from Years 4, 5 and 6 visited Warner Bros. Studios – The Making of Harry Potter. We had been looking forward to it for ages and it did not disappoint.

We began with a lesson about characterisation and learned how costume designers brought characters from JK Rowling’s books to life. We looked at some original costumes from the films and we learned about how costumes can tell you a lot about a character. I was so impressed with our Southill Primary Harry Potter fans who really knew their stuff, articulated themselves so well and asked excellent questions. It was such a treat to be behind the scenes and to learn the secrets about how they made Hagrid so tall, how Voldemort’s cloak changed colour as his power diminished and how Dumbledore’s faded purple robes gave us a clue about his age and status – in fact we made some comparisons with our own Headteacher who coincidentally was wearing the exact same colour!😂

After our lesson, we headed off on the tour which took us through the Great Hall, the Forbidden Forest, Platform 9¾, on board the Hogwarts Express, Diagon Alley and Gringotts Wizarding Bank. We visited the Gryffindor common room, Dumbledore’s office and the potions classroom. It was snowing outside as we visited Privet Drive! There was so much to see! We even had the chance to fly on a broomstick and everyone bought some souvenirs from the enormous gift shop.

I was so proud of our pupils on this trip. It was a long day and we didn’t have much of a rest but everyone was absolutely brilliant. Their behaviour was exemplary and it was a joy to spend the day with them. Big thanks to Miss Savage, Mr Bell, Mrs Symonds, Mr Prior and Mr Mason for their support – without them it wouldn’t have been possible. Here are some photos from the day …