This year’s visit to Staffordshire proved to be as rewarding and as enjoyable for our Grade 7s as the previous visits. The children could not contain their excitement as, after waiting for longer than we should have and with the intercession of many saints, we boarded the plane and set off for Manchester Airport. After a long coach journey, we arrived at Wedgewood Memorial College, in Barlaston, a sleepy little village in Stoke.

“Is this where we are staying?” the children asked, as they looked at a large typical English house, surrounded by green lawns, just off the main road of the village. Bedrooms sorted in Estoril and Lime Houses, then off to a delicious dinner. The day was far from over. Waterworld was next… The children tried all the rides and flumes while the teachers sweated it away in the hot humid air. All too soon it was closing time, and on our return home, we were off to our cosy, quirky bedrooms for a well-deserved night’s sleep.

Saturday morning dawned too early! After a sumptuous breakfast we were off to the Black Country Museum in Dudley. Derek, our six-foot-three tall guide, showed us around this marvelous living museum. The chain-maker’s house, the sweet shop, the bakery all proved to be fascinating. The highlights of the visit must have been the ride in the canal boat, through the maze of canals and the creepy, dimly-lit coal mine.

Families of the children of Cooper Perry Primary School in Seighford, our twin school, hosted the children on Sunday. The anxious thoughts of the morning soon gave way to expressions of excitement, as the students were taken to Monkey Forest, Stafford Centre, and other different places. A barbeque in the evening, on the school playground, while sunshine, rain, thunder and lightning played catch with each other, and Federer and Nadal battled out at Wimbledon, brought the exciting day to a close.

Monday morning… English children were still at school and our students were taken on a tour of the small primary school, by their new friends. Everyone was on his/her best behaviour. The teachers exchanged ideas with their counterparts at Cooper Perry then we all sat down to eat our ample packed lunches. Off to the picture-postcard Stafford centre for the children’s shopping. They were so excited! Clothes, games, gadgets, presents for everyone at home! Those tantalizing acid sweets….!!! We braced ourselves, tasted, grimaced, but only the strong hearted finished them off.

Cadbury World on Tuesday… It seemed that half the English schoolchildren were out to visit the chocolate kingdom that day. The students listened attentively to the history of chocolate, mouths watering at the sight of a huge vat of churning, smooth chocolate - behind a glass partition, unfortunately. We all had a go at writing our names in chocolate and after a Cadabra ride in tiny cars, the students were let loose in the huge Cadbury Shop. And did we buy any chocolates?!...

The last full day was dedicated to Chester Zoo. It was a wet, wet day, however cameras clicked away. The elephants, rhinos, pink flamingos and cheetahs all got their share of “Oohs!” and “ Ahas !”. The bat house was exciting and the huge python was scary, although viewed through thick glass. We couldn’t leave without our souvenirs, so off to the Ark Shop for five minutes of shopping. We also managed a short visit to Chester Centre with its unusual terraced shops and half-timbered houses. Bridge Street is particularly picturesque. We jogged it back to our meeting point in the pouring rain, and hurried back to the waiting coach.

Sadly the last day came too soon. Back to Manchester, where we spent our last morning visiting the Museum of Science and Industry. The children spent an enjoyable half-hour solving 2-D and 3-D puzzles. The Air and Space Hall and Underground Manchester were equally interesting. Off to Manchester Airport for the long wait for our flight back home.

I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Ms Joanne, Ms Maris , Ms Maryanne and especially to Ms Isabelle, the group leader, for their constant care and commitment to make this trip such a memorable one for our Grade 7s.

Rosanne Demanuele

Asst Head Junior Sector