On Saturday 14th May, 34 tired students and 4 teachers arrived at school very early to board a coach heading to Madrid for four days. What an action-packed four days we had!

Our first day was spent getting our bearings and doing a walking tour of the highlights of Madrid, including the Royal Palace and the beautiful squares of the city. We also learned about the history of the Spanish monarchy.

We continued our cultural exploration with a visit to the Museo del Prado to see the art of the famous Goya and then spent a sunny afternoon in the beautiful Parque del Retiro where we had ice cream and played football next to the stunning lake and pedalos.

Our day ended with a flamenco workshop during which we learned the basics of this famous Spanish dance and discovered that Mr Torrance has a promising career as a flamenco dancer should he wish!

Our second day in Madrid was centered around local delicacies; some of us tried the famous calamari sandwiches in the Plaza Mayor before we all went to the renowned Chocolatería San Ginés to try their chocolate con churros, a beloved Spanish dish since 1890.

After a metro ride outside of the city, we spent the afternoon in Madrid’s theme park where we took full advantage of the water rides to cool down from the Spanish sun. Ms Little and Mr Torrance however were not prepared for the soaking from the ride and were screaming louder than the students!

The evening ended learning how to make traditional paella and tortilla and the students made us proud with the way they got stuck into gutting and cutting squid and cod and de-shelling prawns to make two delicious dishes for us to eat. We most definitely have some budding chefs among us!

Before our flight home, we visited Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, the home of Atletico Madrid, where we enjoyed an all-access tour including the changing rooms, the interactive games room and even the pitch. The VR headsets were a highlight; they transported you onto the pitch during a match and had several of our students kicking, ducking and diving from imaginary balls, much to the amusement of onlookers!

All in all, it was an incredible experience for students and staff alike and we cannot wait for the next trip to Spain. ¡Hasta pronto!

Miss Thomas