Our exciting trip started bright and early at two in the morning on the last Wednesday of half term. After a short coach ride to the airport, students enjoyed a spot of shopping and breakfast eating before we took off and our terrific trip commenced! After only a short delay on the plane we were on our way to stunning Sorrento where we arrived at our home for the next four days.
On arrival, following a very quick and very delicious pizza, we had the opportunity to visit the incredible Herculaneum where we ventured through the historic streets where the Romans once walked and lived their lives. We also visited many of the buildings, including ‘the house of the wooden partition’, which is one of the key buildings that we study for our Classics GCSE.
Afterwards, we returned to our hotel and enjoyed a delicious three course meal which everyone loved before a quick look around an Italian supermercato and an early night before our extremely exciting day to come on Thursday. After a good night’s rest, we headed down to the restaurant and enjoyed a delicious breakfast buffet. Once we were refuelled, we hopped on the bus and journeyed through winding roads until we reached the famous Mount Vesuvius. On Vesuvius, although it was chilly, we still had a spectacular view of the crater and the bay of Naples, which gave us a better understanding of how the places we have been studying were destroyed.
After our walk we headed back on the coach to the historic town of Pompeii. After a very quick lunch at a very nice cafe, we were given an excellent guided tour of the ancient ruins allowing us to consolidate our class work and gain a greater understanding of the treasure of the town in all its wonder. Once we had taken in the beautiful sights, such as the amphitheatre, or one of the many stunning villas or the forum, we also had a good look around the Pompeii museum, which gave us a better understanding of the day-to-day life of the Romans. After this we headed back to the hotel where we enjoyed another delicious dinner. Luckily, the day wasn’t over yet! We headed back on the coach where we took pleasure in a game of ten pin bowling.
The next day we visited the Greek city of Paestum, where we saw the spectacular fifth century BC temples and some very good Greek frescoes, some of which are in our Classics GCSE as an essential part to include in our essays. By seeing the frescoes in real life it allowed us to understand them to a far greater depth and find out more about their specific, details which will certainly prove extremely useful in May when the Year 11s will be sitting our exams. After this we headed back to the hotel before enjoying our final three course meal which consisted of spaghetti bolognese followed by chicken and salad and to finish off we enjoyed a hazelnut cake. We then all headed off for a fantastic evening of shopping in Sorrento where we were treated to fresh gelato by our very kind teachers. With our bags of souvenirs and little trinkets we hopped back on the coach before dozing off after another action-packed day.
For our final day, we enjoyed yet another brilliant breakfast before sadly packing up our belongings ready to check out of the hotel. Luckily, we still had another full day of sightseeing in beautiful Naples. Starting off strongly, we explored the beautiful Villa of Poppea, also known as Oplontis, to see some really spectacular wall paintings and architecture. After seeing this extremely educational villa we went to the famous Naples museum which was definitely one of the highlights of the trip, with its vast trove of treasures. From ancient mosaics to breathtaking statues, this museum had it all. We ended the trip with some dinner and a spot of shopping at Naples airport, before we headed home, to return to school at three thirty in the morning.
Overall, this trip was not only an incredible adventure, but also extremely beneficial to our GCSEs as seeing these sites in person allowed us to develop our understanding of both the archeological and atmospheric aspects of Roman and Greek life. Thank you so much to the wonderful Miss Hutton, Mrs Deering and Mr Robson who kindly planned and took the trouble to give us this once in a lifetime opportunity which we are all so grateful for.
Florence W and Poppy S, Year 11, and Luke McG, Year 10
