Spanish Students enjoy exchange trip to Seville

Twenty seven Year 10 and 12 students have recently visited Seville on an exchange programme. They thoroughly enjoyed the trip and Year 12 student Kristina Bain - Rendekova wrote about their experience;

'On Saturday 11^th of January we had an early start to the day when we left school at 4am to travel to Gatwick airport. Some people were excited and seemed to have a lot of energy, whereas others took the opportunity to get a last-minute sleep ready for the busy day ahead. Once we arrived at Seville everyone was excited, and also slightly nervous to meet their exchange students considering it was the first time the exchange students had all met. We then spent the weekend with our exchange partners doing various activities, such as going on a tour around Seville, going out to restaurants and meeting up with our classmates and their exchanges to go shopping together. All in all, it was a fun weekend and an opportunity to get accustomed to a new routine - especially the late dinner times and consequently late bedtimes.

On Monday we visited Córdoba with the English and Spanish students all sharing a two-hour long coach ride. In Córdoba we visited La Mezquita which was beautiful and had a very interesting history. Later we had a chance to go shopping in the city and enjoyed some free time for lunch and exploring.

On Tuesday we went to The Alcazar in Seville and enjoyed taking in even more beautiful sights, learning about the history and taking lots of memorable photos. That afternoon we went on a boat ride down the river in Seville. This was one of the highlights of the trip as we celebrated a birthday, sang and danced, at the same time as taking in the breath-taking views of Seville.

On Wednesday, we went to Mérida which is the capital of Extremadura. We visited Roman ruins which were very interesting and then also visited a museum containing many precious artefacts. This was followed by free time, when we went shopping and had lunch in the sunshine, relaxing and taking in the views of this beautiful city.

On Thursday, we visited La Plaza De España which was amazing to walk around. Afterwards, we went up Las Setas and had a bird’s eye view of the centre of Seville in all its glory, which was a great experience. Later we were taken on a 2-hour tour from students in the equivalent year as our Year 11 students, who attend the same school as our exchange partners. The tour was great and enabled us to make more Spanish friends which maximised our opportunity to speak Spanish. This tour also involved some typical Sevillanas dancing in the streets.

On Friday we spent the day with our exchange partners in school and attended various lessons. We all agreed on that the school and classroom layout was very different to our school. The teachers were welcoming and encouraged discussion in lessons. It was a truly great way of immersing ourselves into the culture even more so because we were able to experience the authentic teaching style in Seville. At break time we had churros and they were delicious. It’s safe to say they were the best part of the school day for many people!

Finally, on Saturday it was time to arrive home. We had an incredible, memorable time in Seville, bonding with our exchanges during the evenings, but also at the weekend. We visited so many beautiful monuments, took lots of photos, danced, sang, had fun in the sun and we were sad to leave. We look forward to seeing our exchange students again in March when they visit us here at St Clement Danes School.'

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