Spain Tour 2018

Posted on: 11/07/2018

Year 8 and 9 trip to Spain: 16th – 22nd June 2018

Year 8 and 9 Spanish students travelled to Spain between 16th and 22nd June 2018, Miss Rensch, Miss Ramsey and Mrs Sheridan accompanied 24 students to Santillana del Mar, Cantabria in Northern Spain.

During their stay, pupils enjoyed two Spanish language lessons at the Academia New, where they learned about family, foods, parts of the house, body parts and animals. They also took part in a dance workshop where they learned three different dance styles: flamenco, salsa and merengue.

We visited the Altamira caves and gained a fascinating insight into the Palaeolithic Age. We also got ourselves lost in the Villapresente maze! This 5,000 km2 maze is the largest in Spain. Well done to Parya, Maabena, Arlinda and Kaiesha who were out first!

During our visit to the town of Comillas, the group enjoyed some free time exploring and shopping. This town is one of Cantabria's most symbolic and interesting places from an architectural point of view and has some important Art Nouveau buildings, including Gaudi's Capricho. The group also enjoyed some time in Comillas paddling in the sea and eating ice creams.

On the final day we enjoyed lunch as a group in the harbour city of Santander before exploring the old part of the city.

A particular hilight of the trip was our visit to the Cabârceno natural Park. This is a naturalised space reclaimed from 750 hectares of a former-pit mine, which is home to 100 species of animals from 5 continents living in semi-free conditions. Whilst at the park we saw yaks, elephants, bears, camels and much more. The group were blown away by the spectacular birds of prey show. Here, vultures, eagles and falcons skimmed the tops of our heads - drawing squeels, screams and laughter from our group. Pupils then queued to have their photo taken with the birds, including Miss Ramsey, who faced her fears!

Evening activities included board games and outdoor activities. On the final day, the girls entertained us with a talent show.

Congratulations to all girls who took part in the trip. We were so impressed by their efforts and enthusiasm throughout the week and, in particular, with their efforts to speak Spanish (and even some French whilst travelling through France!). At the end of our stay, we were even issued with a certificate from the hotel manager, praising the girls for their excellent conduct in the hotel.

Special congratulations go to the following girls for showing particular regard for the school's values during the week: