Trips
We offer a range of trips, to destinations both far and wide, to enrich the curriculum as well as to complement and enhance academic studies and support charity projects worldwide. We believe in enabling our pupils to explore multiple contexts and cultures. Trips to a wide range of locations take place across the year.
Recent excursions include visits to Spain, France, London, Peru and America.
Trips News
On our recent Coke house trip to Holkham Hall, we were lucky to have ideal weather to admire the grounds in their full beauty. As soon as we entered the hall on our tour, it was apparent how interconnected the hall was with Coke house as all throughout the hall, there were many paintings of relatives of Sir Edward Coke, whom our house is named after. We were amazed at the sheer volume of artwork in the house from paintings to statues to murals. We learnt about the Palladian architecture style of the whole estate, meaning that there was a considerable importance placed on symmetry; It’s truly amazing to stand in the centre of the house and see through the whole property. One of the activities we did was preventive conservation, helping document emerging damage in the hall so that it can be monitored and prevented from further deterioration. After completing the necessary work, we took to the gardens surrounding the grounds for a well-deserved break – playing croquet and looking around at the various plants and herbs being nurtured by the gardeners working at the hall. Varying croquet skill levels and severe (but friendly) competitiveness meant we finished the day on a high. We left Holkham hall enriched with a deeper understanding of Coke’s history, and a better knowledge of our peers. - Nova Adkins, Zach Bradley, Rose Cook and Leon Lui - L6 pupils
We went to China for two weeks – from 31 March – 13 April. It was an educational yet fun experience for all of us. The views were amazing, and the cultural differences were very interesting. However, it took a bit to get used to some of the foods as the textures and flavours were quite different and unfamiliar. We also tried using chopsticks and by the end of the trip everyone was pretty confident in using them. When we arrived in Beijing, we went straight to our first destination – Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. The scenery was beautiful, and I learnt a lot about the history of these places from our tour guide. My favourite location in Beijing was the Great Wall of China. The steps were steep and uneven, and it got very tiring. The view was amazing though, and the people looked like moving spots on the ground. The second city we visited was Xi’an. Xi’an is well known for its Terracotta Warriors. The Terracotta Army was really cool to see in person, as every soldier was different – no two soldiers had the same face. However, it was very crowded, so it wasn’t the best experience, but the history was interesting, and the soldiers were incredible. I also found the calligraphy and art lessons fun – the paintings were incredible, and the calligraphy was unbelievable – Chinese characters are very hard, especially to write neatly, yet they made it look so easy. In Nanjing, we visited the Ming Xiaoling mausoleum, the Linggu Temple, Fuzimiao, Dr Sun Yat Sen mausoleum, Nanjing Massacre Museum and many more. I learnt a lot about Nanjing’s history, especially about the massacre. On the last day in Nanjing, we went to our sister school. The area was huge and there were so many students there. My favourite part was the farm – they had so many unexpected animals. We didn’t spend very long in Shanghai, but it was my favourite. We visited the Shanghai Tower – it’s the third tallest building in the world with 128 floors. From the observation deck (118th floor), you can see many other skyscrapers and the Huangpu River, and you can see the whole of Shanghai. We also went on a harbour cruise in the evening, and the city was lit up with lights. The best part of the China trip was going to Shanghai Disney Resort. We spent half a day at Disney – it was amazing. The rides were so fun and the firework display at the end was breathtaking and beautiful. The China trip was so fun – it’s probably the best trip I have been on. I would go on this trip again if I can, I had such an amazing time and I would really recommend it – it’s definitely worth it. - Jessica Li, L5
In March pupils spent six days in Norwich’s twin town of Rouen. With 12 hours of French tuition and evenings with host families, pupils had a really immersive experience using and improving their language skills. There were many highlights of the trip, including interviewing members of the public in a local park about their views on English and French stereotypes learning how to make macarons with a maître-patissier at his School of Pâtisserie being welcomed by French pupils and teachers during our visit to Collège Saint-Dominique, where languages play huge part in the curriculum. spending a wonderful day together exploring Paris- from the Arc de Triomphe to the Bateau Mouche and an afternoon exploring the meandering streets of Montmartre Mrs Watkinson, Mr Croston and Mrs Parkhouse were so impressed with the group’s open-minded attitude and willingness to use their French. Their confidence grew immeasurably through their daily interactions with the host families, language teachers, members of the public and in exchanges in shops and cafés. Equally, travelling everywhere on public transport gave us all a real feeling of adventure and an understanding of how easy and rewarding European travel can be. Pupils commented that: “My French improved a lot through communicating with the host family” “The excursion day in Paris was amazing! Inside Rouen, I really enjoyed the detailed city tour and the Joan of Arc museum.” “My French has improved tons, I can speak much more fluently and can hold conversations in French with my host family.” “French gets a lot easier towards the end of the trip and makes you better at French than everyone else.” “It’s a great experience to see how different cultures work and eat etc and definitely helps with French.” Taking part in such an overseas adventure in another language does more than just improve pupils’ language skills. Communication becomes paramount and we believe that undertaking such an endeavour necessitates a bit of bravery. Pupils become better conversationalists as a result, they uncover and revel in subtle cultural differences and deepen their understanding of their own heritage. They rely on the kindness of relative strangers and find the joy in the magic of putting the language they’ve been learning for years in the classroom to test ‘out in the field’, and finding that it actually works!
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