Arnewood Goes to Hogwarts

On Thursday 16^th November a group of year 9 textile students got to walk in the footsteps of Harry Potter and explore the wonders of the Wizarding World on a school trip to Warner Bros, Harry Potter Studios in London. It turned out to be a great time of year to visit as the studio tour is currently dressed for the festive season in a blanket of filmmaking snow. Students learned how a never melting snow was created by set decorators for the film series using three various materials each serving a different purpose onscreen.

Teachers described this trip as close to perfect as a school trip gets, “there was no traffic, no one was sick on the coach, students were immaculately behaved all day and the workshop was incredible.”

The studio tour allows visitors to step onto the iconic sets like the Great Hall and Diagon Alley, see spellbinding props and costumes up close and in intricate detail and discover how special effects bring magical creatures to life and allow witches and wizards to fly. Students were given complementary Activity Passports including a Golden Snitch hunt, puzzles, and trivia to enhance the tour.

As well as the studio tour students took part in a costume distressing workshop. The Warner Bros cross-curricular education programme is structured to meet learning objectives from the national curriculum and exam board specifications. It was easy to be inspired by the extraordinary artistry, technology and talent that went into creating the Harry Potter film series. Students learned how costumes are created and broken down, they were treated to an exclusive viewing of a hand painted Voldemort costume that is insured for more than £30, 000.

After the workshop students got to try their luck at broomstick flying with the green screen broomstick experience with hilarious consequences.