As part of the English and Art Departmenty's joint extra-curricular activities, 37 students took part in a pre-visit seminar and a full day trip to the Warner Brothers' Studios: The Making of Harry Potter, in Leavesden.

The focus of the enrichment was storytelling through costume design. Students had the benefit of a costume distressing lesson from Warners' Staff, and then toured the studios to explore the sets and costumes fully. They also met Death Eaters and flew broomsticks!

Now they have a costume design challenge to complete - for a character of their choice - for the end of the Hogwarts Summer Ball. Prizes will be awarded!

Lottie writes; 'When I went on the tour it was more than I ever thought it would be there because of all the effort and time that was put into the films, it was so magical to see off-screen. What I learnt from the tour was how to distress clothing and the many stages and costumes can change overtime. We had the privilege of going and seeing many things people don't get to see, such as iconic outfits and Hagrid's face sculpture which is not open to the eyes of the public. It has made me think of so many possible things I can do in the future, from set design, being in films all the way to hair, makeup and making masks. It has shown me so much that the film doesn't tell you. What surprised me was that the castle was so small but looked so big in the film, so it was mind-blowing and took a while to understand. But overall it was an amazing experience and I would 100% go there again. It helps so much with our creating writing task.'

Rosemarie said: 'I learnt about the meaning behind the costumes produced for the Harry Potter movies and about why they chose certain things to go to certain characters during the making of the films and how many designs were in the making for them.'

Kayla writes: 'From the Warner Studio I learnt that they had to scruff up all the costumes using lots of props such as fake blood, paint and a wired brush, which I was very surprised about because I thought they bought the costumes already made. I think it's really impressive to see all the stuff they had to do to make the Harry Potter series, which took over 10 years to make, and they all grew up there, so they were all like family. This experience on the Harry Potter studio tour made me want to carry on with my musical theatre and maybe audition for films in the future. Thank you for this opportunity.'

Thanks to the students and to Mrs Wilson, Mrs Pitassi, Miss King and Mrs Bezant for making the trip so successful!