A number of Loretto pupils enjoyed academic trips over the October half-term break, with French pupils heading to Toulouse, Geographers exploring Iceland, and History and Politics pupils visiting the USA.
French trip to Tolouse
To enhance their French studies, pupils from F4, F5 and U6 visited Toulouse in the first week of the half-term break. They stayed with an incredibly welcoming group of host families during the trip and fully immersed themselves in all aspects of French culture.
As well as attending daily classes at Langue Onze, a language school, they visited La Cité de l'Espace, the Musée d’Aéroscopia, and took day trips to the picturesque cities of Albi and Carcassonne.
Towards the end of their trip, they also enjoyed a boat trip along the Garonne river, explored Toulouse's beautiful old quarter and participated in a cookery class led by an amazing French chef!
Geography trip to Iceland
A group of U6 Geography pupils also enjoyed a trip in the first week of half-term, this time to Iceland.
They started off with a tour of Reykjanes Peninsula, visiting sights such as the Gunnuhver and Seltún geothermal areas. Following in the footsteps of the gods (according to mythology), they also completed the short 15-second journey from Europe to North America via the Bridge between Continents.
Further into the trip they visited a geothermal power plant, Thingvellier National Park, and Skógafoss, Seljalandsfoss and Gullfoss Waterfalls. They also watched Geysir erupt, explored Sólheimajökull Glacier and Dyrhólaey Beach – a black sand beach lined with impressive basalt columns – and had a swim in the Secret Lagoon, Iceland's oldest swimming pool
Evenings were spent watching a Lava Show, ten-pin bowling and marveling at stunning displays of the Northern Lights!
History and Politics trip to the USA
In the second week of half-term, a group of U6 History and Politics pupils crossed the pond to explore New York and Washington D.C.
This trip started in New York with visits to Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, St Paul's Chapel – George Washington's former place of worship – and the vibrant Times Square. They also visited the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, considering the impact and significance of the September 11th attacks.
Further activities in New York included a walking tour around Manhattan, a trip up the Empire State Building to watch the sunset and a look behind the scenes at the prestigious United Nations Headquarters – including a tour around the General Assembly!
Pupils then moved on to Washington D.C. for tours of the White House, US Capitol Building, the Supreme Court and the Smithsonian Museum of American History. Here they saw a wide array of exhibits relevant to their courses, including the uniform and sword of George Washington and desk of Thomas Jefferson. They also made their way to the Washington Monument, the Vietnam War Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial – the site where Martin Luther King gave his 'I Have a Dream' speech to a crowd of over 200,000 people.
A tour of the US National Archives afforded pupils the opportunity to see some of the country's most important records, such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Pupils also visited Arlington National Cemetery – the final resting place of over 400,000 Armed Forces Members – to pay their respects and watch the Changing of the Guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider.
Well done!
Feedback from all three trips has been incredibly positive, with pupils praising the ways in which their studies were brought to life, and the staff members who so generously gave their time to accompany these trips crediting the pupils for being ‘wonderful ambassadors of Loretto’.