After an overnight journey to Dover, during which some people slept more than others (Mr. Greenhouse best of all with his pillows and duvet!), we caught an early ferry and travelled down through Belgium, Luxembourg and France, watching a variety of DVDs – Mr. Greenhouse woke up for long enough to enjoy Mamma Mia! We arrived early evening in Kippenheim, a little town in Germany just over the French border. 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 took the coach back into France to visit La Montagne des Singes (Monkey Mountain). We all enjoyed feeding the monkeys with popcorn and watching their various antics (some of which were rather rude!) One year 8 pupil lost his mobile phone there – wonder if the monkeys have figured out how to use it yet! Then it was time for a picnic lunch supplemented with chips from the snack bar, before we got back on the coach, carefully counting the pupils in case we had any extra little monkeys, and made our way even further up the mountain to the Château de Haut-Koenigsbourg, the largest castle in the Vosges mountains. There we had a guided tour of the castle itself and took lots of photos, although because of the heat the views were quite hazy. Then it was back to the city of Freiburg to explore the old centre and do some souvenir shopping. It is said that if you fall or step accidentally into a Bächle, (gutters with clean running water which run through the centre of the town) you will marry a Freiburger – did anyone do that?
Monday evening was quiz night, expertly run by Mr. Nicholson and Mr. Greenhouse as Mrs. Heer and Mrs. Ritson were kept busy with a medical emergency and a visit from the paramedics – a trip to the local hospital wasn’t really on our itinerary! Fortunately, the pupil who had been taken ill responded well to the treatment at the hospital and was back before too long – an experience she will never forget! Who won the quiz? Ask the year 10s which team it was!

On Tuesday we crossed the River Rhine again 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 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 before setting off again for an evening ten-pin bowling in Herbolzheim, where Cameron and Jordan were the best bowlers (except for Mr. Nicholson of course!). And which year 8 girls nearly emptied the grab-a- cuddly-toy machine?

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? Or on the Blue Fire Megacoaster, which was brand new that week? Mr. Greenhouse was, the rest of the staff were too wimpish! (Although Mrs. Ritson did do the Silverstar last year and there’s a photo to prove it!). 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. Who would win the best dancer prize? Will Mr. Greenhouse ever find fame as a DJ?

We had an early start on Thursday for the long journey back to Calais. We hoped to reach Calais in time to get an earlier ferry, but were just a few minutes too late –fortunately, it turned out, as we then spent an hour watching fire engines and police cars screaming back and forth to the ferry we nearly got! We never found out why.

Then it was the last part of the journey, all the way from one end of England to the other, arriving back at Hookergate in the early hours of Friday morning.

How many DVDs can be watched between Freiburg and Hookergate? Is Mr. Greenhouse the biggest ever fan of Mamma Mia?

Mrs. Ritson and Mrs. Heer will soon be planning next year’s trip, so if you are in Year 7, 8 or 9 look out for details coming soon!