History Club Celebrates Learning with a Trip to Hamilton

Our History Club recently finished their enquiry into the American Revolutionary War and celebrated their hard work — which included debates and presentations — with a trip to the West End to see Hamilton the musical. We are extremely grateful to our PTA for subsidising every ticket and covering the full cost for our pupil premium and looked after children.

Forty students aged 11 to 18 made the journey, and on the way we were proud to see many offering their seats to less able passengers.

After watching the first act, we formed an orderly queue for interval ice creams. You might imagine this could have been a melee — instead, it was marvellous. The queue of almost forty Chiswick School students moved swiftly thanks to their patience and exemplary behaviour. A member of the theatre staff commented that they had never seen such well-mannered students on a trip. They explained that complaints from other theatregoers are common during the interval, yet not a single concern was raised about our History Club members.

By the end of the performance, our students had laughed, gasped and cried — and then waited patiently in their seats for the final surprise of the day.

Once the rest of the audience had left, the Company Manager came out to greet us and introduced himself as the person in charge of the cast we had just watched on stage. What a special moment! The excitement grew as the actors playing Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, John Laurens, George Washington and King George III joined him. Our students gave them a heartfelt round of applause and had the opportunity to ask questions.

Much of the discussion focused on getting things wrong. The actors explained that mistakes happen in every show, and that rejection is common when auditioning for new roles. Their message was clear: resilience matters, and it is important to bounce back after difficult moments with confidence and determination. The cast kindly signed programmes, and four students presented them with floral bouquets.

We look forward to an exciting Spring term and warmly welcome new History Club members. Our next area of focus will be decided in the coming weeks, and we will undoubtedly arrange another exciting trip.

History Club is free to attend and meets every Wednesday in B23 (Ms Herbert’s room) from 3.35–4.20pm.