EAL trip to Stratford-upon-Avon
Last term we were very fortunate to go on an EAL trip to Stratford-upon-Avon. There were fifteen of us from Years 11 to 13 accompanied by Mrs Shanks, Mrs Sustek and Mr Serle. The aims of the trip were to give us practice in real life speaking and listening situations, using rehearsed language under the pressure of an unfamiliar environment, and to give us an opportunity to visit and experience the fascinating English town of Stratford-upon-Avon.
On Friday night we arrived and spent our evening searching the town for food, eventually ending up with a very ‘traditional’ English dinner of Chinese takeaway! The following morning, we carried out a survey, asking people where they come from, their age and why they were visiting the town. We were then given some free time to experience Stratford-upon-Avon, and everyone went shopping, took photographs and we all met to have supper again at a local Italian restaurant.
On Saturday evening we went to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre to see Love’s Labour’s Won. It was a thoroughly enjoyable performance, and everyone fully appreciated it. We all found it interesting to listen to the English language outside of our normal routines within school and boarding life.
On Sunday morning we had a guided tour of the town, visiting Shakespeare’s birthplace, the church where he is now buried and we walked along the River Avon. We were told about Shakespeare's childhood and family as we visited the places where he and his family lived. Once our tour was over we had some more free time to explore the town some more, which was a nice way to end our fun weekend.
The town was so beautiful and we all feel incredibly lucky to have been given the opportunity to visit such a historic and picturesque place. It was such a great weekend and we are thankful to the teachers who offered this take to us.
Anastasia Kulachenkova (Year 11)