Whilst loudly singing London’s Burning, Blankenhagen Years 1 and 2 pupils watched the model Tudor houses they had created at school go up in flames in an imitation of the Fire of London. 

However this fire was under the watchful eye of PRB’s fire-fighters and was the culmination of a science and history project that pupils had been working on since January.

On Friday, February 27, pupils and teachers from the primary school visited the fire station on PRB to watch their replica Pudding Lane go up in flames and, more importantly, to increase their fire safety and learn about the fire service.

Over the course of the visit the youngsters learnt to crawl out of a room to avoid breathing in smoke, the number to dial to call the fire service and, most excitingly for some, what the inside of a fire engine looks like!

Fire station manager, Richard Steer, emphasised how vital it was for the fire service to speak to young people: Getting kids fire-aware from a small age is really important as they grow in to adults who have a good knowledge of fire awareness and safety.

We are trying to achieve an annual visit for every school year by either classes coming here, or us visiting them in school.

Once all the pupils had thoroughly explored the airfield fire engine, everyone went outside to watch the model London, made of their cardboard Tudor houses, go up in flames.

Sarah Layhe-Humphreys, Key Stage 1 leader and organiser of the trip, explained the pupils had learnt in school what Tudor houses were made of and why the original Fire of London spread so quickly. And, despite the damp weather on PRB, the model fire also spread quickly and had soon destroyed the pupils’ Pudding Lane and Tudor London!