On Thursday 18 April, 18 members of Coke house spent the day at Holkham Hall to find out more about who our house is named after. On arrival, we were greeted by hundreds of fallow deer in front of the house, as well as geese and many other birds. The day began with a quick walk through their interactive museum, and everyone got stuck in getting dressed up and engaging in all the activities. For the rest of the morning, we had a tour of the hall, where we learnt about the history of the house, the current Coke family living there and the architecture and artwork which makes the hall so special. Our guide, Katherine, taught us about the barrister Sir Edward Coke who founded the family fortune and provided money for his ancestors to build Holkham Hall. Building began in the 1730’s by Thomas Coke and the now £200 million building was completed in 1764.

After lunch in the courtyard café, we travelled five minutes down the drive to the six-acre Walled Garden. Here, we helped the gardeners by weeding and planting wildflowers to increase the biodiversity of the area. This was great fun, and everyone loved getting their hands dirty apart from when we realised how many worms and spiders there were...

Then we headed over to their large forest school area and helped clear some logs ahead of the summer season. We all worked as a team to clear the area and even Mr Cawkwell and Miss Doidge loved getting involved! We finished a brilliant day off with a well-deserved ice cream overlooking the stunning grounds and unique wildlife.

Thank you to Mr Cawkwell and Miss Doidge for organising and taking us on such a great trip, we have made friendships across year groups that we otherwise would not have fostered, and we have enjoyed learning more about the best house!!

Written by L6 Pupils, Katie Smith and Eva Buckley