Pupils' Bayeux Tapestry visit 'once in a lifetime'

Schoolchildren from East Sussex have been given an "experience they will never forget" with an exclusive first look at the Bayeux Tapestry in London.

Dozens of students from both sides of the Channel were invited to the British Museum on 2 September to see the nearly 1,000-year-old tapestry.

They also got to meet King Charles III, Prime Minister Andy Burnham and French President Emmanuel Macron.

The early medieval masterpiece, which tells the story of the events leading up to 1066 and the Norman Conquest, is open to the public from next week until 11 July next year.

Sean Ingram, head of history at Claverham Community College, near Battle, said: "I have students declaring they'll never wash their hands again [after shaking hands with the King]. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity for our students.

"The students loved the tapestry, they were glued to it the whole way through. The work the museum has done is phenomenal."

Year seven student Chris said: "It's amazing to see such an amazing artifact."

Classmate George said the experience was "crazy", while his friend Leo added that the tapestry was "so much bigger than you think".

Arabella added: "It was really cool how it was so intact after such a long time."

The 70m (230ft) long tapestry has 58 scenes of the events leading up to 1066 and the Battle of Hastings, complete with 626 figures, 202 horses and six women.

Dominic O'Regan, headteacher at Mulberry West St Leonards Primary School, said: "It's an experience they will never forget. They'll be telling their grandchildren about this at the end of the century."

In return for the historic loan, the British Museum is sending prized items from its collection, including one of only four complete helmets that survive from Anglo-Saxon England, as part of the collection of treasures found at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk.

The BBC has announced special programming across TV and radio, including a new documentary for BBC Two and iPlayer which will follow the tapestry on its remarkable journey from Bayeux to London, and a dedicated day of documentaries, discussions and drama on BBC Radio 4.

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