The Thomas Tallis Tales Trail

The life of the father of English choral music Thomas Tallis is an enigma. Historical documents that reveal his character and thinking habits are like finding a needle in a haystack. What does survive in abundance is the huge volume of musical scores that illuminate many of our inferences about the qualities he must have displayed during his 45 years of working for four Tudor monarchs at the Greenwich Palace of Placentia.

With so little to go on other than the musical scores, how was the History Department going to conceive of a celebration of his life in the form of a KS3 visit and historical enquiry? Where should we go? What might we see? What would we ask the students to consider? What use might it be today as the school that bears his name celebrates its 50th Anniversary year?

In an attempt to solve these puzzles, staff members made their way to the Church of St. Alfege and the Old Royal Naval College Visitors' Centre in the heart of the world heritage site of Greenwich in the summer of 2021 and from there the vision began to take shape.

​The wonderful staff of St Alfege Church would help illuminate the artefacts in their Tallis corner and a visit to the crypt using torches to investigate further. Similarly, colleagues at the ORNC Visitors Centre would reveal evidence of the former Greenwich Palace of Placentia where he worked for the best part of five decades. The aim? To exercise student inquisitiveness and consider the relationship between Tallis the man and the place where he worked. Furthermore, to explore the connections with the character and habits that the school encourages the students to develop in their journey through Thomas Tallis school, in the 5 decades of public education provision it as provided in this part of southeast London.

The result? Ten consecutive days of trips for the whole of Year 7 and 8 that witnessed the collaboration not only of our school with external providers but the invaluable contribution of staff from pastoral, special needs, administrative and kitchen staff ably supported by our Senior Leaders Team, too many to mention.

​The legacy? Our students know who he was, where he worked and the incredible character and habits, he maintained throughout his time here in Greenwich 1540-1585. Our students understand the reason these characteristics and habits remain of such significance in their own journeys in life, wherever they may lead. A webpage documenting the visits can be viewed here. And, thanks to colleagues and students in the media arts, here's a film version of our shared adventure:

​Here's what some of colleagues had to say about the experience:

As a new member of staff at Thomas Tallis School, having joined the school in September 2021, these trips were such a fantastic way to engage in the history of our school community. It was wonderful to see the Year 7s and 8s engage so thoughtfully with the sessions on the enigmatic Thomas Tallis, and the connections they drew to Habits and Character traits were wonderful to see.
-- Nick Chevis ECT of History 

The visit to Greenwich was a real treat, especially for our Year 7s, as for many this was their first school trip with Tallis. The long day of walking was a nice bit of exercise for us all, and the visits revealed the rich history of our local area. The Royal Naval College gave students a window into the past that enabled them to imagine the site hundreds of years ago, when the red-brick Tudor palace stood, large and imposing, on the riverbank. They learned of the deer hunts that took place on our walking route and tried out a jousting pole for size. Some felt confident that they could take on the Tudor knights. Others, less so! We thought about the monarchs for whom Thomas Tallis himself worked, and we reflected on the Character that he must have developed – optimism, respect, but not too much honesty! At our next stop, St Alfege Church, we considered his Habits, too. The persistence and discipline required of our student musicians gave them a newfound respect for his long, musical career. We were treated to some beautiful Tallis organ music, which reinforced our belief in our namesake’s talent. The highlight of the trip for me and most of the students was the visit into the crypt to search for the tombs of Tallis and other notable figures through time, including General James Wolfe, whose statue gave us inspiration on the walk home to design memorials for Tallis and his legacy. As we arrived back at school, we were worn out, but our heads were filled with ideas about Thomas Tallis the man. Who was he? We do not know much, but we do know he exercised his Tallis Habits and Character with skill. I hope our students will remember this special 50th anniversary visit, and the man that gave us his name.
-- Cammie Evans Deputy Head of History

It was fantastic to see these students explore, celebrate and be part of our school history. Come rain or shine, the students demonstrated persistence, imagination and collaboration. It was great to be out in the community and for the students to piece together the life of Thomas Tallis. It was a wonderful day to be a part of and one to remember in commemorating Thomas Tallis School’s 50th anniversary.
-- Ria Williams History Teacher 

The trips were a fantastic opportunity to get to know the students outside of the classroom environment. Students showed resilience both in the long walk to Greenwich and in completing the Tallis Tales enquiry.
-- Mike Scopa, Teach First trainee historian