At 11.30 pm on the evening of April 4th Mrs Ritson, Miss Collin, Miss King, Mr Nicholson and Mr Zabrocki set off with 40 pupils for the Black Forest in Germany. After an overnight journey to Dover we caught an early ferry and travelled down through Belgium, Luxembourg and France, arriving early evening in Kippenheim. After settling into our hotel and having a meal some pupils and staff went to explore the town while others stayed in the hotel to relax.
On Monday morning we visited the highest waterfall in the Black Forest, although because of the snow it was more like the White Forest! Then after a walk around the town of Triberg, home of the cuckoo clock, it was back to the city of Freiburg to explore the old centre and do some souvenir shopping. The evening was spent ten-pin bowling in Herbolzheim, where the coach drivers were the undisputed champions of our group!
On Tuesday we crossed the River Rhine back into France to visit Strasbourg. First stop was the chocolate factory where we watched a short film, looked round the museum, watched a demonstration and sampled the chocolate. Then it was a short trip into Strasbourg (with a little detour when the SatNav tried to send us into a supermarket car park!), where we had a boat trip on the canal and river, seeing the old half-timbered houses, Little Venice and the European Parliament and experiencing going up and down in the locks on the canal. Back on dry land it was time to explore the old centre of Strasbourg, visit its many shops and look for McDonalds, for purely historical reasons of course, it being the first McDonalds to open in France! Then back to the hotel for our evening meal and the quiz!
There was great excitement on Wednesday as this was the day we were visiting Europapark with its many rides, attractions and shows. Who would be brave enough to go on the Silverstar, the highest rollercoaster in Europe? Mrs Ritson, Miss Collin, Miss King and Mr Zabrocki certainly were (and there’s a photo to prove it!). Despite the afternoon’s rain everyone enjoyed the day but all too soon it was time to return to the hotel to eat, pack and get ready for the last night party disco.
We had an early start on Thursday for the long journey back to Calais. Unfortunately our ferry was delayed which meant we arrived back at Hookergate in the early hours of Friday morning. Who will ever forget our coach driving down School Lane at 2.30 am with 40 pupils, 5 staff and 2 drivers singing “I’m a Believer” at the top of their voices?
Mrs Ritson and Mrs Heer are already planning next year’s trip to France, so if you are in Year 7, 8 or 9 look out for details coming soon!
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