In the VERY early hours of October 23, Mrs Lattimer, Mr Samson and fifteen Year 10 and  Year 11 pupils set off for five days in Bordeaux. Everyone had a fantastic time enjoying highlights such as a climb to the top of the highest sand dune in Europe (a little bit like playing in a giant sand pit), a visit to the brand new Matmut football stadium and a day trip to Futuroscope theme park, amongst other activities!

19 pupils and three brave teachers went on a five day trip to Cologne in Germany, staying in a youth hostel within walking distance of the historic centre.

Cultural highlights included a visit to Cologne Cathedral, with its golden shrine of the Three Kings and exploring the old town with its cobbled streets and its ancient timbered houses (all in fact rebuilt after the war). They also explored German youth culture and cuisine by making numerous visits to McDonald's! Testing out German public transport, pupils travelled by train along the Rhine to Königswinter and taking the ‘Drachenfelsbergbahn’ rack railway to the ruined castle, where opera lovers will know, brave Siegfried killed the dragon. From the Drachenfels there is a beautiful view of the Rhine Valley. At least, that’s what the brochures said as they could see only rain and fog.

More highlights were a visit to the chocolate museum and tasting the exhibits and a tour of the Bayer Leverkusen football stadium, followed by a rather bumpy ride at the adventure park Phantasialand.

Pupils practised their German when travelling on public transport, ordering food and talking to German students in the youth hostel. The evenings were spent writing diaries, playing games organised by Mr Ansell and doing quizzes, they also went bowling and visited a “Kletterhalle”, where students who thought they were scared of heights managed to scale the 30 metre climbing wall.

Claires Court pupils certainly left their mark on Cologne: largely owing to the huge trail of abandoned possessions left in their wake, like those of a marauding army. These included passports, room keys, wallets, shirts and jackets, even a special trip by train to retrieve a passport: some of the items turned up in the end, although several people in Germany now have a nice new set of clothes. All in all, however: Das hat Spass gemacht! [it was fun!]

Twenty three Spanish pupils headed to the alluring Salamanca during the half-term break.

The trip allowed pupils to visit some beautiful and very historical cities and of course practise Spanish. On the first day they visited Toledo which is known for the medieval Arab, Jewish and Christian monuments in its walled old city. On the second day they visited the city Salamanca and also took part in workshops and lessons at a language school. Some of the activities involved a cooking lesson where they prepared tapas and a treasure hunt around the city centre. This was great fun as the girls and boys had to interview Spanish people and get them to sing a song! In the evening they tried salsa  dancing which got everyone on their feet! What a night!

The next day they saw Segovia, which is a historic city with a rich architectural legacy, including the impressive Roman aqueduct. The following day involved seeing a colourful market in Salamanca where they learned about the traditional products of the region. Later that day they went out to a few tapas restaurants to taste a variety of tapas such as 'tortilla de patatas', 'croquetas', 'paella', and many more. They were all delicious! On the last day they visited some of the main landmarks in Madrid including the 'Plaza del Sol' where they had lunch and did more shopping. Finally, the group went to the football stadium 'Bernabeu' which has a very good museum. They all agreed it was very interesting to see the changing rooms and the press room of Real Madrid FC and that they had a great time in Spain and learned a lot more about the culture.