Tto school trip to England – 1st April-8th April 2011
England in the grip of “Royal wedding fever”

On Friday the 1st of April 2011, 55 second grade tto students and the following 5  tto teachers, Mrs. Blom, Mrs.  Sartori, Mrs. Ayala Cevat, Mr. Esselman and Mr.  Blom,  left for a week long cultural visit to England. The first stop on this cultural extravaganza was Dover Castle, a giant castle which stands on the striking white cliffs of Dover, that overlooks the tranquil port of Dover. This is the narrowest part of the English Channel  in the United Kingdom to continental Europe. The castle and cliffs have represented throughout history the first line of defense against an invading enemy. Our students roamed around the preserved grounds and discovered underground tunnels hidden beneath the castle which have stood the test of time despite foreign invasions, civil wars, and the threatened German invasion during World War 11.

Following our brief visit, the coach headed towards Woking for a rendezvous with the British guest families, whom would be our hosts for the next seven days. That evening our students exchanged Information about their culture and their country with members of their guest family and ate a typical English dinner before retiring for the evening. The next day we headed towards the British Library, where the first ever exhibition exploring the complex history of English language in all its national and international diversity  was being held.  Students could freely wander around exploring  and discovering treasures like the only surviving manuscript of Beowulf, and recorded speeches by Gandhi and Churchill and to view the Libraries iconic collection of over 14 million books and medieval manuscripts, including the original copy of the Magna Carta.

From the British library we rushed to the National Theatre to watch a play called Greenland, on Global Climate Change. Before and after the show our students joined in on a public round table discussion which was filmed and recorded.

Round table discussion about Greenland	Relaxation near the Thames

Day two began with a return visit to London and a stop at the British Museum, which was founded in 1753 and is home to almost two million objects, these include the Rosetta Stone and the Parthenon sculptures. Students were given two hours to find and locate on a World map 10 famous museum objects.

After the museum we entered Waterstones  bookstore, the largest bookshop in Europe, for the bookworms the temptation was too irresistible, five floors of the latest bestsellers was all too much especially for Mr. Blom who was able to find a beautiful book on the life and writings of Charles Darwin. From Waterstones our coach headed towards Stamford Bridge the home of Chelsea Football club for a guided tour into areas usually reserved only for the players, like the players dressing room with shirts of some of the biggest names in World football hanging on the wall. From the changing room to the player’s tunnel, the press room, the manager’s dugouts and finally a walk on the famous Chelsea pitch. For the football fans amongst us this was the perfect end to a perfect day.

Day three of our trip began at dawn, with a three hour coach ride to Birmingham, and a visit to Hampstead Hall secondary school where our students would be based for the next two days. Each student was paired up with an English student who chaperoned them around the school. Our students attended a variety of lessons and participated in discussions with their English counterparts and took part in a number of sporting activities.

Day four ended with the eagerly awaited visit to Cadbury’s chocolate factory where we discovered the history and the making of chocolate, an interpretation of cocoa and Cadbury’s chocolate both past and present. After two hours of smelling, feeling, tasting, and buying into the Cadbury’s experience we headed back to Woking. For the chocoholics amongst us this turned out to be the most enjoyable, exciting and memorable day of the whole trip.

Day five, started with a tour and workshop at Shakespeare’s globe theatre along the River Thames. Students were given tips on how to read and perform Shakespeare’s plays. Students were given lines from Romeo and Juliet to perform. From Shakespeare’s globe on the south side of the river we headed across Westminster Bridge , travelled down famous roads like Downing Street, Birdcage Walk, The Mall, Horse Guard Road,  passing historic buildings on the way, like Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, The  Houses of Parliament, and the majestic Buckingham Palace.

In glorious sunshine we sat in St. James Park and watched Londoners getting  ready for the much anticipated Royal wedding. London is in the midst of royal wedding fever, with streets being prepared for all the pomp and pageantry of a British royal wedding.

We ended a glorious day in London, with a visit to the West End to see the performance of the award-winning show Warhorse, which is based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo. The setting and backdrop for the play is the First World War, the themes are bravery, loyalty and the extraordinary bond between a young recruit and his horse. Actors worked with astonishing life-sized puppets, taking the audience on an emotional roller- coaster journey revealing the misery and the sufferings of the men and war horses during World War One.

The penultimate day was spent in the Science museum with a visit to the new atmosphere gallery on global climate change.  We were able to explore the complicated subject of climate science, and uncover the secrets of ice cores and stalagmites. In the afternoon we went to Blue Water shopping centre for some last minute souvenirs for family and friends back home.

Finally the last day of our trip had come around very quickly, we travelled back to Holland via the ferry boat from Dover to Calais. We arrived back in Hoofddorp late on Friday evening, full of good memories and many incredible new and exciting experiences.

Mrs. Sylvia Blom