By Emily Pinkney (Upper Sixth)

On Sunday 22nd October, 30 students from Years 11 to Upper Sixth arrived bright and early at school, raring to go to the beautiful city of Valencia. All students had a lovely time immersing themselves in the Spanish culture and taking every opportunity to improve their language skills and confidence, both in the shops and restaurants and during the language lessons. The Upper Sixth students found it particularly interesting to see how the content of their language lessons linked to the topics in their A-level course, such as the ‘Patrimonio Cultural’.

Seeing the spectacular view at the top of the El Micalet tower on our first day was a great way to see the city, although our legs were aching after the 207 steps! We were rewarded by a fabulous ‘merienda’ of ‘churros con chocolate’.

On Tuesday, we visited ‘La Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències’ which is home to the largest aquarium in Europe, the Oceanographic, and the Science Museum. Everyone loved seeing the diverse collection of marine animals, with the jellyfish and seals being the favourites of many.

Another fun moment was exploring the market whilst doing an interactive activity. A few of us even tried the traditional Valencian horchata drink which we dipped our ‘fartons’ pastries in.

Our final treat was the delicious paella, a Valencian speciality. ‘En resumen’, we had a fabulous time in Valencia.

Aakriti (Year 11) reflected on the trip: “The Spanish trip has been ‘una experiencia increíble’ for me and certainly for all my friends as well. I've enjoyed walking through the beautiful 'calles' and exploring the culture through the food, ‘que era deliciosa’. We spent time in the Oceanographic aquarium where we travelled through the longest underwater tunnel in Europe. The colourful buildings gave the city an uplifting atmosphere, and the ‘plazas’ we visited were ‘muy bonitas’. I found it really good to be able to have lessons with Spanish teachers in the language school because it was challenging and helpful as well. ‘Muchas gracias’ to all the teachers because I had a wonderful time overall. ‘¡Lo pasé bomba!’

Señora Stuart (MFL teacher) added: “My best bit was that everyone seemed to really get on well with each other. So lovely to see.”

You can read all the wonderful student reflections here. 

View the photo highlights from the visit here.