At the beginning of August, the Year 13 History class headed to Arrowtown for an overnight trip to study the Otago Gold Rush.

Students conducted independent research on focus topics they had developed in class.

The trip began with a walking tour of Arrowtown, exploring the former Chinese settlement, local churches, schools, and other key historical sites. This gave students a clear picture of what daily life was like during the Gold Rush.

Students then headed to Queenstown for the night to tackle a Gold Rush–themed escape room. Everyone had a great time cracking codes and solving puzzles to escape before the one-hour deadline.

We wrapped up the trip on Tuesday at the Lakes District Museum, where students had full access to the museum's archives to work on their assessments. The group worked hard and uncovered some fascinating research.

A big thank you to Miss Wotton and Miss Gale for their help making the trip a success!

Kelsi McLellan.