Last week, 52 Year 9 students visited our partner school (Punta del Verde) in Seville thanks to the money awarded by the Turing Scheme. This is a government-funded scheme that we applied for in April 2021. It was a jam-packed week of activities, from sight-seeing to bowling, a factory visit and a treasure hunt.
Pupils have been working with their pen pals in Seville since last academic year, and they finally managed to put a face to the name they had been communicating with for so long. The Spanish school gave us a guided tour of the city on the first day, explaining the history behind the street names. Pupils also visited the aquarium, and were thrilled to see sharks and turtles. There were plenty of photo opportunities.
On the second day, pupils learned about how dried fruits, a popular snack in Seville, are produced and packaged. Their Spanish skills were put to the test as the tour was given exclusively in Spanish. We also visited our partner school and, in the afternoon, we were joined by some of our Spanish pen pals for a memorable game of bowling (pictured below along with the classroom). In addition, when we returned to the hotel, the pupils had the chance to play with a member of the under 16s Real Betis football team, as the Spanish players are educated in our partner school whilst they train and play for the team. Solomon even received a signed shirt and Mudather was pleased as the player “taught us some new skills”.
For our final day, pupils were treated to a treasure hunt in María Luisa park. The park is famous as it is featured in the TV series Game of Thrones and in the Star Wars films. Our Spanish partner school created a map and clues for our pupils to follow, and the pupils were in groups with some of their Spanish penpals. Following this experience, Daniel said:
“My favourite memory was when I went to the park and we got to explore on our own and we made Spanish friends”.
We went on a boat trip in the afternoon and Safa was impressed, saying “we got to see some of the most majestic scenery on the river”. In the evening, pupils experienced a real Spanish tapas restaurant (pictured right). Despite some apprehension about trying new foods at first, many pupils, such as Aliya, said that their favourite memory was the special tapas meal as “I tried new cultural food”.
We were very fortunate to have all these experiences, facilitated by the brilliant teachers at Punta del Verde. The pupils learned not only about the Spanish language and culture, but they also developed resilience, independence and confidence trying new things and being out of their comfort zone. Talal summarised the experience by saying “It was an unforgettable experience and I would like to keep in touch with the Spanish people”.
See below for more pictures of the wonderful Spanish adventure.
