Our Year 8 students swapped classrooms for cobblestones last week, trading the school canteen for the culinary delights of Catalunya, spending a memorable week exploring Barcelona and its surrounding gems.
Home base for the week was the picturesque coastal town of Tossa de Mar, whose medieval walls and sparkling bay provided the perfect backdrop for evenings of (surprisingly competitive) beach football. The sun made a very committed appearance throughout the trip — all of us are still recovering from the realisation that “just a bit warm” in Catalonia means something rather different to “warm” back home.
One of the undoubted highlights was our day trip to Girona, where students climbed the steps of the city’s magnificent cathedral — the very same steps that fans of Game of Thrones will recognise as the entrance to the Great Sept of Baelor. Cue much dramatic re-enactment and at least one member of staff loudly declaring “shame” all the way down. History and pop culture rarely align so neatly, and the students’ enthusiasm for the cathedral’s architecture (and its screen credits) was equally genuine.
From there, it was on to Figueres for a visit to the Dalí Theatre-Museum, a building almost as surreal as the artist’s paintings themselves. Melting clocks, a rooftop of giant eggs, and a room designed to look like Mae West’s face (if you squint and stand in exactly the right spot) gave students plenty to talk about — and provided a very useful lesson in how art doesn’t always have to make sense to be brilliant.
Back in Barcelona itself, the group visited Gaudí’s whimsical Park Güell, where students marvelled at the mosaic benches and the views across the city, and staff marvelled at how many photos one group of teenagers can take of the same lizard statue. We then descended on La Boqueria market, where the sights, smells, and sheer scale of Catalan produce left quite an impression — as did the fruit skewers and smoothies, which vanished considerably faster than any packed lunch has ever managed at school. A stroll down the ever-buzzing La Rambla followed, along with the purchasing of many I HEART BARCELONA t-shirts.
No trip to the Costa Brava would be complete without a proper soaking, and a day at Lloret de Mar’s water park delivered exactly that. Slides were conquered, splash zones were embraced with enthusiasm, and nearly every single student took the plunge.
Throughout the week, our Year 8 travellers showed curiosity, good humour, and stamina in the heat. They represented the school brilliantly, and staff were delighted to see so much enthusiasm for a new culture and cuisine.
A huge well done to all who took part — and a very special thank you to Mr Ealden, Mr Smith, Mrs Wood and Miss Jhutti for coming on the trip with us. Their positivity in the face of Barcelona Airport’s woeful Customer Service, their kindness towards all our students, resilience when deprived of sleep and fantastic sense of bin-based humour, made the trip an unforgettable experience for us all. Thank you as well to parents for entrusting us with a week of sunshine, sightseeing, and (mostly) sensible bedtimes.
Mr Broe and Mrs Santos, Trip Leaders
