The Modern Foreign Languages Department recently returned from a successful 5-day residential visit to the historic city of Valencia, Spain. The trip was led by Mrs Parrott (Head of Modern Foreign Languages) and her indefatigable colleagues Mr Sotos-Herreros and Mrs Rojas-Rodriguez, who all teach the GCSE Spanish pupils in Years 10 and 11. It was a superb opportunity to take our teaching out of the classroom for an immersive Spanish experience.
Mrs Parrott writes:
‘On the first day, during our walking tour of the city, we learned why Valencia is fast becoming one of the most desired destinations to visit in Europe. During our visit, we enjoyed 5 days of 25°C and sunshine and were able to explore all parts of the city on foot, by bicycle, bus and metro, including the Museo de Bellas Artes, the Museo de los Falleros and the Bioparc. There really was something for all interests from the beautiful urban centre with its narrow streets, picturesque balconies, and souvenir shops juxtaposed with the modernity of the futuristic Arts and Science Museum.
We were very impressed by the curiosity of our pupils in embracing the Spanish culture and trying out their Spanish in various role play situations. On the last day, we all wrote a diary detailing each day of our visit, in Spanish of course! The highlight for all was a visit to the Spanish school in where we were paired up with a class of 15 year olds pupils of English and to break the ice, we played a game of “two truths, one lie”, made an imprint of a Spanish tile typical of the district, and rounded off with a football match - England v Spain. Certainly, a trip to remember!
Year 10 pupil, M Perry, adds:
‘Over the half-term break, a group of 24 Year 10 and 11 pupils flew to sunny Valencia with Mrs Parrott, Mrs Rojas and Mr Sotos. Starting off the trip with a walking tour, we dipped into the culture (and quite literally!) the buildings of the historic city of Valencia.
El segundo día visitamos El Museo de Bellas Artes (On the second day, we visited Bellas Artes Museum), followed by an authentic Churrería visit - if you’ve never had churros with chocolate, you’re missing out!
El próximo día we cycled through the park that runs centrally through the city on a diverted riverbed to the futuristic Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences) ¡Es muy moderno! Mi favorito fue el pez espada (It was very modern! My favourite was the swordfish)
El penúltimo día fuimos al Bioparc (zoo), había muchos animales exóticos animales ¡Fue increíble! (The penultimate day we went to the Bioparc, there were many exotic animals. It was incredible!)
El último día fuimos al Museo de los Falleros (The last day we went to the Falleros Museum) to learn about the grotesque statues that are burned every year in this bizarre fiesta in March.’
