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Trinity trips - An international perspective

We were thrilled to return to international travel this year and many departments leapt at the chance to offer students educational and unforgettable experiences in far-flung locations.

There are many benefits of school trips abroad. They can positively impact a student’s entire learning experience, expand their knowledge, broaden perspectives, deepen friendships and are also a lot of fun. We believe they are important for educational advancement, but they also instil a sense of adventure, responsibility and independence in our students.

We also know – when speaking to alumni over the years – the memories made outside of the classroom, can last a lifetime.

By the end of this academic year, students will have visited New York, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, China, Malawi, Austria, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and The Azores.

Here we look back at some highlights of our international travel this school year.

The Business of New York

The Economics Department took a group of excited A Level students to New York City during October half term. Here they describe the trip in a group report:

To see New York was a dream come true for us all. We rode into Manhattan to the theme tune of The Sopranos, with the warm autumn sunshine making the great city even more atmospheric.

After soaking in the 360° view of The Big Apple from the 70th floor of the Rockefeller Centre, we took a cruise around New York Harbour and sailed up to the Statue of Liberty. Although it was a bit smaller than we imagined, it was still exciting to have been so close to what many associate with being the symbol of America.

Times Square was a complete assault on the senses; our culinary exploration of New York led us to hotdog stalls, Hard Rock Café, ‘Bubba Gump Shrimp’ and small Italian bistros. Our evening entertainment gave us a sense of American culture, watching an ice hockey match at the world-famous Madison Square Gardens and Wicked on Broadway

The New York Rangers game was very show-like: the emotions of the fans, fuelled by the organ tones between every few points, made it impossible to stay impartial. We felt so immersed in the match that we chanted at the top of our lungs to support Rangers and celebrated their spectacular 6-4 win.

On our walking tour of the Financial District and Wall Street, we saw many icons of the business world including the World Trade Center, Ground Zero, the Fearless Girl and the famous Charging Bull, the symbol of capitalism.

We also took a guided tour of the United Nations Headquarters allowing us to hear a snippet of a discussion on UK fiscal policy.

We packed a lot into our few days in New York. Each moment of the trip was a unique experience. It all made for a once in a lifetime trip and our whole group would like to thank Trinity School for giving us such a unique opportunity to enhance our learning.

Playing rugby in the United Arab Emirates

A group of Second- and Third-Year students embarked on the UAE Rugby Tour during October half term for a mixture of culture, sightseeing and rugby. This trip has been running for over 10 years and provides the students with a unique opportunity to experience the lifestyle and sport of another country.

The students were hosted by families in Abu Dhabi and Dubai during the sevenday trip alongside playing lots of rugby and experiencing all the major tourist attractions. In Abu Dhabi they visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and (in contrast) Ferrari World theme park. In Dubai, it was the Burj Khalifa, Atlantis, a jeep desert safari and camel rides.

“The UAE rugby tour allows students to develop as a team, improving their rugby and independence. They travel home with new international friends and experiences they will remember forever.

"This year’s group played some of the best rugby of the season, bringing energy, passion and guts to win their games. They also conducted themselves extremely well on and off the pitch. Well done boys.”

Miss Long, Teacher of PE

As part of the rugby tour, the students played matches against the Dubai Exiles, Dubai Hurricanes and Abu Dhabi Harlequins.

Thomas Karelis said, “For the U14s, Dubai was a great confidence boost in terms of the rugby and a real bonding experience for the team. The activities were magnificent and we experienced new things every day. Although the theme parks were probably one of the most exciting parts of the trip, my highlight has to be the rugby.

"We proved to be a dominant force with lovely attacking structure and a relentless defensive unit. The team did incredibly well to adapt to the conditions. I had an amazing trip and I know that everyone else did too.”

Josh Gardner agreed, "The UAE is an incredible place, and I am so grateful I had the opportunity to go. I had the time of my life and, even better, I got to spend it with my best friends.

"But aside from the great activities, we knew rugby was the main focus and we walked onto the pitch, representing our school with pride. The effort, passion, skill and physicality were all there to have an undefeated tour.

"Despite playing in tough conditions where you can't even catch the ball because your hands are too sweaty or you're tired because of the heat, we pulled through, strong as a team."

Improving language skills in Salamanca

Visiting a native country is one of the most beneficial opportunities for students to fully immerse themselves in another language. It helps students connect with locals, better understand the culture and provides everyday scenarios to test their vocabulary, with a very real need to be understood.

Last October, a group of GCSE Spanish students from the Fourth and Fifth Years went to Salamanca in Western Spain for five days. The students stayed with host families where they could practise their language skills and experience authentic Spanish culture and cuisine.

“We had five fun-filled days, but my favourite activity was the task competition. We had to communicate in Spanish with members of the public and really pay attention to the responses to earn points. Going on the trip gave me a lot of confidence in my language skills but also opened my eyes to how differently Spanish is spoken outside of a classroom.”

Fourth Year student.

Every morning the students attended language school, and in the afternoon, activities ranged from climbing the 198 steps to the top of Salamanca’s cathedral, with stunning views of the city, to tapas tours and basketball.

The students loved the experience and a Fifth Year commented, “Since almost nobody there could speak English, including the families we stayed with and the teachers at the language school, it was a brilliant immersion and massively improved our Spanish speaking skills.

"My favourite moment was exploring Salamanca in the rain, to capture its distinctive landmarks, like the arches and the astronaut carved into the cathedral, for our photography competition.”

Perspective

Travel can be an important way to gain perspective. We encourage students to embrace people, places and experiences not part of their everyday lives.

“It was a joy to see the students embracing Spanish life and language so whole-heartedly during the trip. A personal highlight was that, when given free rein to choose their last evening meal, the boys flocked to a traditional tapas restaurant to order in Spanish, rather than McDonalds!”

Mrs