At the start of February, Miss Elliott and I went with a group of 15 students to our partner school in Salou, Spain. We spent a week enjoying the warmth of the Spanish sun as well as of our hosts’ hospitality.
All students were accommodated in families, allowing them to immerse themselves fully in Spanish culture. During the week, in addition to spending some time in our partner school, students were taken on trips to Barcelona, Lleida and Tarragona and were lucky enough to be in town for the annual fiesta! On their return, students wrote their own accounts of the visit…
“The exchange was the best trip that you could imagine… During our stay there was a big festival called Coso blanco which was really good. We partied into the night and I will always remember it for the rest of my life”
“On the 5th February, I flew to Spain for the Spanish Exchange. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made… My Spanish has improved so much and so has my confidence.”
“The Spanish Exchange was a blast. I met so many new people that are now close friends…The family I was paired with were the best, they treated me as if I was their own daughter, they were so sweet and helped me with my Spanish a lot.”
“Although I was nervous at first, I had a great time on this exchange…Not only has my Spanish improved a lot, I have been given the opportunity to immerse myself in the culture and I have grown in confidence throughout the week…”
“Hanging out with your exchange partner is always way more fun that people say. We saw some amazing things and I made some amazing new friends. I was so upset to leave.
Overall the exchange is an amazing opportunity to try new things…Exchange families essentially take you under their wing and from experience they take brilliant care of you.”
“The first full day we went to Tarragona, which was very historical and then an art workshop [in school] on Gaudi, where we created our own mosaic patterned tops – mine centred around flowers. This is just a snippet, but the day at school was really fun as we saw how they learn English from a young age.”
“The best part was Cos Blanc 2019 which is the most important carnival in Salou. … Some of us dressed up as elephants and we paraded through Salou. In the morning we went around once, then in the evening we went around twice with around 22 tons of confetti and people throwing it around. It was one of the best trips I have been on and I will remember this magnificent experience for the rest of my life.”
“I loved the Spanish Exchange! I met so many new people and I made so many new friends. I had a lovely time. … There were 36,000 people in the festival. It was amazing… I can’t wait until they come to England.”
“The people were so welcoming and the family I stayed with made me feel so at home. I loved the immersion into the life and culture of Spain…and would do it all again in a heartbeat.”
The German and Spanish Exchange partners will be coming to Newbury in the second half of the summer term, when we hope to make them feel as welcome as we did when we travelled to see them.
