York Minster is one of Europe’s finest Cathedrals.

The central tower is 235ft (72m) tall. It’s Northern Europe’s biggest Gothic Cathedral.

The first religious building was built on this site in 637AD. Work started on the current Gothic structure in 1230 and was completed in 1472. The Minster has 128 stained glass windows which apparently have 2000000 individual glass pieces. It’s a busy place of worship with over 1600 services each year.

Thankfully York has not succumbed to the plague of high rise buildings. So The Minster still dominates the city view from all directions. I remember having a chat with an American work colleague who on visiting the city for the first time told me

“That’s a lovely church but it would have been better if they had built it on a hill”

Unfortunately the nearest hill is about 15 miles away. Strangely our little bungalow is on that very hill. We struggle to fill our little church so I’m pretty sure a Cathedral would be bit of over kill.

It’s absolutely stunning inside but we never make it that far. Son loves to walk round it and think. Then he looks to the skies for a glimpse of the nesting Peregrine Falcons. Finally we always end at a statue of a Roman Emperor. In 306AD Constantious died in York. The soldiers in York immediately proclaimed Constantine the Emperor. So for a brief moment in time York was the centre of the Roman Empire. Son loves to drink up this history.

Surely when you have such history on your doorstep why not use. York has the largest Train Museum in the World showcasing engineering and invention at its finest. What better way to spark an interest. To learn. To grow. But apparently this is not the case. It would seem writing out spelling mistakes 3 times is the way to go. Regardless of the subject – Science, History, Maths, Design Technology, Drama – let’s just get the spelling right. I bet that will spark an interest!!!!

46 thoughts on “Spark an Interest”

  6. As a teacher I can assure you that very few members of my profession are thrilled by the stultifying nature of education. Those that do, are the wrong kinds of teachers anyway!

    But that’s the price we all pay when we are trying to mass manufacture a one size fits all education. Luckily, as you so amply demonstrate, family and friends are the teachers of so much meaningful information, because they can teach passion and curiosity.

    Which we can all agree is generally more useful than spelling!

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      1. Yes, I would. When I visited the UK, most of my favourite places were the old ones. The old buildings, the museums, churches. I got to see A LOT of them when I was there! And I loved every minute of that!

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  10. Getting out and about is certainly the way to spark interest. I was listening to a programme yesterday about people from poorer and BME backgrounds being deprived of natural spaces and the opportunity to gain confidence. However, anyone can be interested in lack and history etc if someone is willing to show them.

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  11. York is a fantastic city. I’ve been several times and there is always something new to see or do. Walking the city walls is always worth doing and the Jorvik viking centre is superb.

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  19. I loved the national railway museum in York (and York itself) long before I had a child. I have often wished it was nearer so I could take my son, he’d never cope with the trip now or the overnight stay in a hotel. It does seem such a waste it is not used more by schools.

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