Haberdashers’ Aske’s Girls’ and Boys’ School
We left Offenburg at 5.30 am on a Saturday in June. We went to England by bus. The trip was very long, but it didn’t feel as long as it was. At Calais we took the ferry to Dover. It was very exciting, because there was a lot of wind. Then we moved on to the school in Borehamwood. There we saw our exchange students for the first time J. We spent the next day in our families. Most families did some interesting things with us. For most students it was the first time in London.
We (38 students from year 7) were split into two groups, group A and group B. On Monday group A did the London west tour, group B went to school. At the London west tour, we took a boat from Westminster to the Tower Bridge. There we had time to take photos and then we saw the Tower of London. After a little break, we liked to go over the Tower Bridge. We walked to St Paul’s Cathedral, along South Bank and across the Millennium Bridge. Then we visited St Paul’s Cathedral. After that we went to the top: 111 metres high. From the top, everyone found the view amazing. At the third day group B went to London and group A went to school. The school is quite different from our school. The first quarter, the students have to be in a room so that the teachers can check attendance. After school we went to St Albans. We visited a Roman museum, saw the oldest English pub and visited the big cathedral. Then we had time for shopping in the city.
On Wednesday, group A made the London east tour and group B went to Kensington. Group A took the Tube to Piccadilly Circus. There we had a bit of time for shopping. Everyone went into M&M’s world. Afterwards we walked to Trafalgar Square, but we weren’t allowed to sit on a lion. So we walked quickly to Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guards. It was great. Then we went to Westminster Abbey and to Big Ben. It was a beautiful sight. The next day group A went to Kensington and group B went to London. In Kensington, we visited the Natural History Museum, which is very informative and you don’t have to pay anything for it. After this, we went to the Royal Albert Memorial, we had a break there. Then we went shopping on Oxford Street. On Friday both groups went to Cambridge together. There we visited St. John’s College. After lunch we went punting with the traditional Cambridge-punts on the river Cam. It was really relaxed. We went back to school earlier than the other days, so we had time with some of our English-students. That was our last day. The next day, we drove off early in the morning and went back home.
For us this week was very exciting. We have experienced a lot. And in our opinion the teachers, Mr. Krank, Mrs. Brucher, Mrs. Lunke and the teachers in England did a good job.
Thank you for a great week!
(Cédric Schwencke, 7e)
