36 lucky pupils (18 from each school) took part – read their comments below.
For pictures of the trip click here
In Spain 9-17 April
As usual, our visit began with a fabulous array of home-made food produced by parents, who deserve a big thank you. As for the programme – in Spain, we had excursions to visit the magnificently preserved Old Town of Cáceres, expertly led by la Laboral’s own tourism students; we had a whole day in the beautiful city of Salamanca, which, like Liverpool has two cathedrals (although they are both Catholic) and was European Capital of Culture in 2002; the modern art on display at the Wostell Museum in Malpartida provided much food for thought and the scenery in the surrounding area of Los Barruecos is simply stunning. Then, Luisa Téllez led us on a lovely country walk near Valencia de Alcántara to find some amazing prehistoric burial tombs or dolmens before crossing the border with Portugal to visit the well preserved castle in Marvao, where the group seemed to regress to infancy in their delight at clambering over the battlements!
When we weren’t out on the wonderful visit programme, we were treated to
special in-school activities just for us. Emilia Gómez persuaded us to produce
mock TV commercials and then turned our bad acting into a near-professional
finished product with some clever editing and dubbing. Víctor Cordón and Antonio
Domínguez gave us a welcome opportunity to play football and an exciting session
on the school’s climbing wall. One of the real highlights was cooking paella,
tortilla española and crêpes under the expert guidance of José Ángel Suárez and
then sitting down to eat our own cooking, after an expert display in cocktail
making and how to slice the very best Iberian ham, from pigs reared on acorns.
We mustn’t forget the fun we had helping Spanish students in their English
lessons and a special excursion for the boarders to see real bullfight training,
And, of course, there was the excitement of the party, where to my surprise at
least, everyone joined in the dancing and had a great time.
What did the pupils think?
The family was really nice. The little boy is good at pool and the whole
family was really fun to be with.
Salamanca was “fenomenal”. Doing the video lesson was really exciting.
I would like to visit next year if possible. Friendly families, very good places
to visit.
The lessons helping the teachers were brilliant as we got to know even more
people.
I found my family extremely welcoming, all of them treating me like a son.
The party was the best I have been to in my life!
I felt as if I was in my own home with my real family.
Spain is a great place. Hopefully, there will be an exchange next year, though I
doubt if it will be better than this one!
The cooking lesson was fantastic, because I got to see really good chefs cook
brilliant food.
I have liked every little bit of the holiday.
If offered the chance to come again, I would not hesitate!
Valencia de Alcántara was a brilliant trip.
The family was very nice and understanding. The trip was absolutely brilliant.
It was a great trip and has left me with a greater understanding of the history,
culture and language. I would love to do it again!
In England 22nd April to 1st May
What better way to kick off than with a day out at Alton Towers? Air, Rita, Oblivion, Spinball Whizzer were the first new vocabulary items mastered by our daring Spanish visitors, although one or two preferred the rather more sedate Squirrel Nutkin! Knowsley Safari Park was a definite hit, especially the Safari School Workshop where huge lizards, a rat and a strange coloured frog were among wildlife we were allowed to handle – if we dared! As always, the Dewa Roman Experience was fascinating especially the tour with the Roman Soldier, in full uniform! And what can we say about World Museum, Liverpool? We were there to witness the opening ceremony and were the first in to see what a breathtaking place it has become. Our final visit was to Liverpool FC’s magnificent Anfield stadium, which was a bit like home with all the Spanish names on view.
What about in school? Assembly seems strange if you’re not used to it, but was an interesting experience. Will Hughes’ biology lesson threw new light on our visit to the Safari Park, Jenny Pizer gave us a great hands-on demo of CPR, Mike Hayward delighted us all with some chemical bangs and flashes and Alan Blain discovered some new artistic talent amongst us (!). And that was just on Tuesday! On Thursday, we helped with Spanish conversation, had fun learning about the library with Liz Reeve, discovered the delights of the violin with Liz McIlwaine while some composed new hits in the keyboard lab with Graham Ellis, Steve Parry brought out our competitive streak in Technology, Paul Walton showed us a few of the amazing possibilities of the Multi-Media Language Lab and Jonathan Green was both amused and amazed by our efforts on the climbing wall. And the party was great!
After all that excitement, disaster struck! The bus failed to arrive at school to transport the Spanish party to Liverpool Airport! Fortunately, the parents rallied round magnificently and took the group in their own cars, arriving in good time for the plane. An embarrassed bus company has offered a refund and a letter of apology!
What did the pupils think?
I thought the food wasn’t going to be nice – but it is!
English people aren’t as unfriendly as they’re said to be (!)
The family was the best, always anxious to see I had everything.
The school is really cool and everyone was great to us.
I’d love to stay longer even if I had to sleep on the floor!
I’ll cry when we have to go!
It was all too perfect. I don’t know what else to say!
I’ll really miss them all especially.......... but he’s coming to Spain in the
summer!
The family were great. The Mum even tried to speak Spanish – but she couldn’t!
