This year the 80 TTO first year students of LVO-weert left for Great Britain on 20th April to experience the English culture and put their English skills into practice.
After a smooth, sunny crossing we arrived at Dover where a stop was made at the White Cliffs of Dover. A short but exciting (especially for the teachers!) walk was made on the cliffs where we enjoyed the stunning view and the first group pictures (and lots of selfies) were taken.
Some 50 minutes later we were walking along the Great Stour into the centre of Canterbury. Next on our programme was a guided tour in the magnificent cathedral after which the students had some free time to look around in small groups.
At about six pm we headed for Margate where the host families were expecting us. Excited and a bit nervous the students were introduced to their host families with whom they left for their homes.
The next morning we first went to the Steiner School just outside Canterbury for a drama workshop. The workshop was meant to prepare the students for the show they were going to see in the afternoon: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare. Back in Canterbury we had lunch and went to Marlowe’s Theatre to watch the show, which was, although it had been prepared at school and during the workshop, rather difficult but an interesting experience. Final activity of Thursday 21st April was the Historic River Cruise which is a great success every year mainly because of the lively way the guides tell their stories. In between the several parts of our programme the students had some free time to do their souvenir shopping, interview people and work on other assignments. After this long day, full of all kinds of different activities we went back to Margate where the students would spend another night with their host families.
On Friday 22nd April we said goodbye to the host families (who had been really pleased with our students: “great kids, very polite and well-behaved!”) and returned to Dover where we were going to visit Dover Castle. Besides visiting the beautifully decorated Great Tower and exploring the grounds of Dover Castle, some groups visited the secret war tunnels where they learned all about Operation Dynamo. Other groups visited the underground hospital. Too soon we had to go back to the buses which took us back to the docks where the ferry was waiting for us. Late that evening we safely arrived at Weert where the parents were waiting for us. It was a wonderful trip!
Pictures can be seen in our photo gallery.