On 14th June 2022, Mrs Barkway, Mrs Whitnall, Mrs Farmer, Mr Dixon and Mr Jackson accompanied forty Year 9 students on a four day residential trip to Seville, Spain.

Despite the extreme heat, the students did us proud and had many opportunities to show off their Spanish language skills. On the first evening, they saw a flamenco show with classic Sevillanas (dances) being performed, accompanied by the Spanish guitar. They also got to sample some tapas.

The second day was a full on walking tour of the city, with a quest along the way, where students had to use their Spanish to answer clues and piece together puzzles. Congratulations due to the winning team ‘ Sobresaliente’ and second place went to ‘Sebilla’.

After a tapas lunch, they visited the famous cathedral and climbed ‘La Giralda’ bell tower; thirty-two floors to climb but an amazing panoramic view of the city as a reward. Some students also got to visit the tomb of Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón) who is laid to rest there.

Day three took them along the river (el río Guadalquivir) on a boat trip along it’s length, seeing lots of Seville’s famous sights.

Thursday was a national holiday in Spain, Corpus Christi and so the streets were decorated with religious altars and red and gold decoration and a procession carrying the Virgin Mary through the streets to the cathedral.

The last day included a visit to the bull ring. Their guide showed them around ‘la plaza de toros’ and was very informative on the customs and traditions that ‘la corrida’ is based upon.

The staff we were extremely proud of our students and the way in which they represented the school.