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Madrid
Study Visit
In
March the Spanish department takes a group of year 10 and 12 girls to
the capital city of Spain, Madrid.
We travel by air to Madrid and meet up with host families. Girls are
paired-up and stay together with their family, and are provided with breakfast,
a packed-lunch and dinner.
Mornings are spent in class. The girls have 12 hours of intensive Spanish
lessons spread out over a three or four day period. Afternoons are spent
visiting places of interest and cultural value, such as the Palacio Real,
the Prado museum and the Plaza Mayor. A day trip to Toledo or Segovia
forms part of the visit, and a group meal is enjoyed by all.
Generally, the girls will leave their families by 8.00a.m. to meet up
with rest of the school party, and return at 7.00p.m. All evenings are
spent at home with the host families.
In 2002 the girls were fortunate enough to see Real Madrid play Sparta
Prague in the magnificent Bernebeu stadium. (click
here to see a few photographs)
Seville Study Visit
14 – 19 March 2004
On Sunday 14th
March, 40 pupils from Years 10 and 12 flew to Seville for a busy week
of language classes, cultural lessons and sightseeing. The girls were
accompanied by Mrs El-Hares, Miss Trotman, Miss Borrett and our parent
helper, Mrs Robertson. On arrival in Seville, the girls were met by the
host families and had their first conversation in Spanish over dinner.
Without a doubt the week was a great success. Linguistic progress was
high as the girls were reported to have worked diligently during their
grammar and conversation classes at Clic International House Sevilla.
Similarly, their level of confidence when speaking in the language had
improved notably by the end of the study visit.
Whilst the girls were happy with their morning Spanish lessons, it was
the cultural aspect that they enjoyed the most. The week was activity-filled
with at least two events or visits planned for each afternoon. The week
got off to an excellent start with a very informative visit to La Catedral
and the Giralda with its spectacular views of the city, followed by an
exciting boat trip on the river Guadalquivir. Other visits to places
of interest such as La Plaza de España, el Museo de Artes y Costumbres
and Reales Alcázares were well received. The excellent weather (a sunny
25 °C) made the picnic in the Parque Marialuisa and walk around the traditional
Barrio Santa Cruz even more enjoyable.
The additional activities provided by the organisation Clic International
were a great success with the girls. The party with Spanish pupils studying
English provided the opportunity for the girls to make friends with pupils
of their own age. The Sevillana (flamenco) dance lesson on the terrace
(where we found ourselves applying sunscreen at 6pm!) was one of the highlights
of the visit.
The most memorable day however was our day trip to Córdoba, the most important city of the former Arab Caliphate. The city contains an extraordinary mixture of history and cultures with Roman, Jewish, Arab, Christian and Muslim monuments standing side by side – or in the case of the Mezquita (a cathedral inside a mosque) in the same place! The day ended perfectly with the Year 12s being given the opportunity to sample tapas accompanied by the teachers.
Seville
is a truly remarkable, friendly city which offers the best of Spanish
tradition. Well worth a second visit!
(click here for pictures)
TRIP TO VERSAILLES
During the Easter Holiday 22 brave students set off for Paris by Eurostar,
accompanied by Mlle Matel, Miss Daubeney and Coralie Magnes, the French
Assistante.
When we arrived in Versailles, the students were waiting with trepidation
to discover who their French foster family for the week would be.
They were much relieved to discover that French people are not as monstrous
as they had thought and in fact welcomed them with open arms.
The group spent a fun packed week visiting all the major sites in Paris
including a whistle stop of Le Louvre, braving the lofty heights of the
Eiffel Tower, retail therapy on the Champs Elysées and a relaxing boat
trip on the river. Students had the opportunity to show their appreciation
of Modern Art at the Pompidou Centre. The girls jumped at the chance of
having their portrait drawn at Montmartre and explored the Château de
Versailles and its garden in the first rain of the week
Work was also on the agenda in the form of 3 hours of daily lessons and
of course communicating with the locals and the host family.. The students
enjoyed French cuisine and survived the experience of unfamiliar dishes.
Despite attempts by customs officers on strike to keep us in France, we
managed to escape, several pounds heavier due to the abundant food but
with purses several pounds lighter.
The Versailles experience has been most enjoyable and rewarding for the
students and the staff. We shall repeat the trip next year.
Vive
la France
Minden 2004
This year’s trip to Minden took place between the 12th and 21st March. We travelled by coach and ferry to Germany, arriving late on Friday evening. The first weekend was spent with the host families, with some people going on trips to Hamburg, Hanover or even as far as Cologne. On Monday morning, we spent some time in our German host school, the Herdergymnasium and were then greeted by the Mayor of Minden in the old town hall. On Tuesday we set off very early for our overnight trip to Berlin. We stay in a youth hostel in the Wilmersdorf district of the capital, and during our two days manage to visit most of the major sights including the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, remains of the Berlin Wall and the Television Tower on Alexanderplatz. On Thursday, we visited the lock in Minden. The town lies on the crossroads of the Mittellandkanal and the River Weser, and a lock has been constructed to transport boats the thirteen metres between the two levels of water. On Friday we went to Bremen, famous for its musicians and Beck’s Beer. The final Saturday was spent with families, and we travelled home by coach and shuttle on Sunday. The German group will be visiting Sutton in July this year.
You can visit the Minden website at www.minden.de. The German partner school’s website address is www.herder-gymnasium-minden.de.
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