On Tuesday 11th February 2020, Year 6 visited Wimbeldon and the All English Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club. We were greeted by Patrick who took us in to the area where the ball boys and girls spend their time during the Championship. After shedding our coats, we were taught how to find and measure our pulse. We discovered that some of us (including Miss Wetton!) started to worry, as they could not find their pulse. For the rest of us, our pulses were between 50 BPM and 80 BPM, which Patrick told us was a healthy resting heart rate. 

Once we had established our resting heart rates, we were talked through a series of basic tennis moves including the forehand, backhand and the smash. The last move we learnt was invented by somebody, who in doing so, changed the way that the game of tennis was played. 

When we were thoroughly warmed up, we were taken on a tour of the grounds. It started at Court Number 1. This is where some very high profile matches have happened, although when we were there the grass was still growing, the markings were missing and many other things were needed to make it match ready. After this, we were taken up to a large grassy area. Some of us knew it as Henman Hill, others as Murray Mound. We found out that sometimes several thousand people would sit there to watch matches on the big screen. 

After we had eaten our lunch, we were taken to Centre Court. This is where the final matches of the Wimbledon Open happen so we were very excited! Finally, we visited the museum where we got to interact with some fun items whilst learning about the history of both tennis as a game and Wimbledon. For example, did you know it was originally a croquet club?

Before we left, we got to take some souvenirs including badges and posters. What a fantastic day we had.