Class 5 and 6  went to The Big Pit in Wales. When we got there we went into the mine. We had to wear helmets, battery packs and a flashlight on our helmets. We went down in a cage and we were all squished together. Inside the mine, it was really wet and the miner showed us where the miners went to the toilet but also where the pit ponies used to be. We could see the names of the pit ponies that used to live there like Star, King, Shadow and Socks. Some of us could walk through the mines really easily but some of us had to duck to avoid banging our heads. Miss Downer banged her head on the ceiling when she closed the door behind us. We experienced total darkness after Miss Downer remembered to turn her torch off and then we went back up in the cage were we got to see the daylight creeping in as we came back to the surface. Some children got to take the coal home that they found on the floor. Later on in the day, we experienced a virtual video and exhibition and also looked through the museum. Both classes had a great day! by Ethan, Elvie, Bluebelle, Cas & Nellie P

    

When we were on the coach, Mr Coupe kept telling us about the bridge that crosses over from England to Wales. When we got to the bridge, Charlie shouted, “We’re in Wales!”. After that, everyone started cheering  and when we got there we were beaming. We went into groups and got ready to go down the mine. We were given battery packs and safety helmets. We went down in the old mine elevator - it was really frightening and dark  - luckily we had torches on our helmets. Then we followed the instructor (an ex-miner) through a tunnel and at one point we had to duck our heads. We saw the stables where the ponies were kept. Unfortunately, they had to stay underground for most of their lives. Only one day during the holidays they would go outside but only at night time because the light would damage  the horses’ eyes . We were told how the miners were signalled to come back up to the surface—they used two metal wires that they were put together and it would make a spark that would make a noise. That was very risky because it made a spark and if any gas was around it would blow up! We saw a couple of canaries, a type of bird that are really cute. They were used to detect whether there was gas in the mine— if they stopped singing there was gas present! We watched a film and looked at the museum.          by Jacob L