After an extremely early start on the 13th June, 27 pupils and 3 teachers set off from Swanmore College of Technology filled with both excitement and some nerves to Ajaccio on the West coast of Corsica! 

This was the first ever trip that we hope to be the beginning of a long exchange relationship. 

The trip was a huge success and many great friendships were formed.  The pupils enjoyed boiling temperatures, different foods, speaking French, activities such as orienteering, high tree climbing, treasure hunts, language quizzes and a huge party to finish the week! 

The pupils threw themselves into the experience, talking French and were not only a credit to the college, but a real pleasure to accompany for a week.

To view a slideshow of photos from the trip, visit the VLE!

Before the Easter break 42 Key Stage 4 pupils ventured out to the north-western reaches of our continent to visit Iceland.

First stop on the trip was at the Blue Lagoon, a geo-thermal spa, which was a welcome respite after the flight. Once we had all soaked in the hot waters and were suitably relaxed we ventured to our hotel, the Hotel Cabin in Reykjavik.
The next day we departed for our ‘South Shore’ adventure, the first stop was at the Skόgarfoss waterfall standing at a mighty 60 metres tall, we didn’t have to get too close before we were all suitably drenched from the spray! Our adventure then continued to the black basalt beaches of the Dyrolaey coast where coastal features such as arches, caves, stacks and stumps were seen. The next stop for the day was a walk on the Sόlheimajökull glacier tongue where pupils were able to observe the power of the ice on the environment. Our final stop for the day was a walk behind the Seljalandsfoss waterfall, which stands 40 metres high and provided another opportunity to rinse off in the spray before heading back to the hotel.

On Sunday we embarked on the ‘Golden circle’ excursion. This took us to another incredible waterfall, Gullfoss. Here the water plummets down a double cascade into a 70 metre deep, 2.5km long gorge, before flowing out to sea. We then arrived at the Geyser centre and witnessed the Great Geyser spouting up to approximately 20 metres high every 10 minutes or so, powered by geo-thermal activity. Once various videos and photos had been taken and the smell of sulphur had become too much for us, we moved on to our last stop of the excursion, þingvellir National Park. This National shrine and World Heritage site provided an excellent viewing point of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a 7km wide rift valley which creates a geographical ‘no-mans land’ between the continents of Europe and North America.

After we had all packed our bags ready to fly home we ventured out on our final objective; seeing the Northern Lights. We walked a short distance to the shore line from our hotel in Reykjavik and we waited for the darkness to set in.  Some time later and a number of dubious ‘I can see it’ shouts from the pupils we gave up hope and strolled back to the hotel. Whilst walking back to the hotel there were many disappointed gazes over the horizon and then suddenly one pupil spotted a faint shifting band of green light across the night’s sky. Whilst there were some non-believers, a number of pupils and staff were happy to say they had seen the Northern Lights, which seemed like the perfect end to an incredible trip.

February half term came the week we’d been counting down to for over a year – the Ski Trip in the Austrian mountains.

We were up and out early each morning for a day of many falls, a lot of laughing, and some skiing! After the snow had fallen and the sun had come out conditions got better and better, as many of the skiers did. It took only a few days to get the whole group off the learning slopes and up onto the top of the mountain – even those who had never touched skis before were able to go down some of the trickiest slopes by the end of the week. We were all especially careful not to fall over or slip off the lifts though because nothing went unnoticed and untold!

Evening entertainment was always a highlight with ice skating, swimming and quizzes (not forgetting Mr Foster’s science revision- a personal highlight!) As the week came to an end, everyone was tired, but of course found the energy to dance the night away dressed as cheetahs, sumo wrestlers, nuns and many other bizarre characters!

There was a smile on everyone’s face as the week came to an end but as reluctant as everyone was to leave, we all looked forward to catching up on sleep – and I think the local supermarket needed time to recover! A superb trip that we all wish we could repeat again.

Written by Molly Dineen Y10 H5

Paris Trip - 2010

On Thursday 14 October, 44 Year 10 and 11 pupils along with 5 teachers were all standing, suitcase in hand, half asleep, shivering with the cold (apart from Mr Foster who appeared in shorts!), outside the school gates at 5:15 in the morning, waiting for the coach to arrive. It was just our luck that the coach was late. Finally, the coach arrived, our luggage was loaded, and we were off to Paris.

At about 9:00am we reached the ferry terminal in Dover. We arrived in Calais, France, at just after 12:00pm and had 5 hours of enjoying the French countryside until we finally found ourselves in Paris. We were introduced to what would be our home for three more days after having a tour of some main Parisian sights, and even getting our first glimpses of the Eiffel tower.

After settling in to our rooms, we went out to a restaurant – St Germain, and though we had to order in French, we had a pleasant time and the meals were delicious.

At 9:00am we were on the coach and setting off to Musée d’Orsay. Little did we know then that it would be closed for another couple of hours, but we waited patiently whilst taking photos and doing observational drawings of our surroundings. Eventually the museum opened and we spent a good morning viewing a great amount of breathtaking artwork.

After the museum visit we all went for lunch, and apart from two, who went to a lovely little French restaurant, the pupils relished in a true French delicacy: McDonalds.

After lunch the group split up; those who did french went to look round the Musée Rodin, those who went for the art, or even did art and french, visited the Pompidou Centre. Both were extremely interesting and we were given some very new experiences, learning that art can be almost anything - it wasn’t all paintings and sculptures!

It was 6:30pm and we were all getting a bit cold and tired but we were cheered up by a nice boat ride on the River Seine; waving at people walking past and using up our camera memory on the view, especially when the Eiffel Tower came into sight!

Saturday was the day we had all been waiting for - the climb of the Eiffel Tower. Everyone went up, despite their fears, and most people made it to the very top! The view was stunning. After descending the Eiffel Tower, we then walked across the River Seine to the Arc de Triomphe.
More walking followed the Arc de Triomphe, along the Champs Elysees and across the Place de la Concorde to the Jardin des Tuileries, after which we had lunch in the Louvre area.

At 3.00pm we visited the Louvre museum. This was an amazing opportunity to view some of the world’s most famous works of art such as the Venus De Milo and the Mona Lisa herself.
Sunday seemed to come too quick and sadly it was time to go home. We had our bags all packed and ready for 8:30am and were soon on the coach and saying goodbye to our hotel.

Before we left Paris we trekked up a great hill to Montmartre, and visited The Sacre Coeur, a beautiful cathedral like building. While still in Montmartre we had time to visit some more shops, a chance to purchase any last gifts or souvenirs. A crepe was another treat we enjoyed there. Some people also had caricatures done for them, though they soon realised haggling was a skill needed to get their picture at the price it was worth!

A last goodbye to Paris was said as the coach picked us up and we started our journey back home. I would highly recommend this trip to future GCSE French and Art students. It was a great experience, but most importantly it was great fun!

Written by Naomi Cox 11W6