Last month, 19 pupils from Cranford House School joined 21 Shiplake pupils as they embarked on the biennial four-day cultural visit to Madrid. The group was accompanied by Mr Diez-Urkidi and Mrs Parrott, who provided the report below:
On the morning of 5 April, 21 very sleepy year 9 and 10 Shiplake students set off for the Spanish city of Madrid along with 19 girls from Cranford School, who were all hoping for sunny Spanish weather.
This is the College’s third link with the girls of Cranford House School, who are now firm friends; most of the pupils had got to know each other by breakfast time at Luton airport! Our comfortable hotel ‘The Hat’ was situated right in the centre of the city, and allowed us easy walking access to attractions, restaurants and shops. The rooms were big and allowed some students to have everything well organised, on the floor!
Some of the students rented mini-electrical scooters to travel easily. We took the metro to the famous Bernabeu stadium, saw Picasso’s famous Guernica in the Reina Sofía Museum and had plenty of shopping opportunities in the centre. No one lost his/her wallet, as is customary on a trip!
Those who expected typical Spanish weather were sadly disappointed as we had rain every day, but the Flamenco dancing lesson and “chocolate con churros” kept our spirits up. On the Sunday, we took a coach trip to the ancient city of Segovia for a guided tour and a chance to see the impressive Roman aqueduct. There was even snow in the mountains and on the plain. We cannot guarantee that Spanish was spoken at all times but there was certainly some haggling in Spanish with market sellers and ordering drinks in the cafés and restaurants!
Above all, this was a great opportunity for Mr Diez-Urkidi and myself to give our students a cultural insight into this vibrant Spanish capital and plant the seed that language learning is great fun outside the classroom. Some future A level students here, we hope!
.jpg&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "Enseñando Español con rugby")
