On our first full day, we had the exciting experience of taking the metro in Spain and began with a tour of the Gothic quarter and competed in an interactive game around the area, like a treasure hunt! We then had time to go off in groups and explore the city, did some shopping, and finally ended the day with dinner in the hostel.  

The next day was another busy one, beginning with a tour of the famous ‘La Sagrada Familia’ where we learnt about the detail of Gaudi’s designs. Students have described it as “beautiful and full of culture”. In the afternoon, we then competed in a tapas cooking masterclass and were able to try many different types of Spanish traditional food. After arriving back at our hostel, we were then surprised to find that a problem with the sprinklers in the stairwell meant we were all going to get a bit wet. When we saw thunderstorms on the weather forecast, we were not expecting them to be inside! However, after lots of laughing about the situation, it all turned out well in the end and we ended the day with a flamenco evening dinner and a chance revisit La Sagrada Familia in the dark where we were lucky- enough to watch a group practising the ‘Los Castellers’ traditional – a human tower! 

On the fourth day we set off on a bus for the first time to Parc Güell, an eye-catching landscape park created by Gaudi where we walked around and absorbed the beautiful scenery and Gaudi's signature fairy-tale spires and rooves. Then we explored the Picasso Museum where we took part in an immersive audio tour, learning about Pablo Picasso’s life, collections, and artwork. Our last activity of the trip was a guided street art walking tour where we came back to the Gothic Quarter and explored the work of many street artists and the meaning behind their pieces. We really left our mark in Barcelona as a kind artist allowed one of us to spray paint the letters ‘TGS’ onto his artwork! In the evening, we then went out for dinner at a lovely restaurant where we all made the most of our last night of fun together. 

The next morning, we were allowed to go out and explore the area around our hostel one last time before sadly setting off to the airport and going back home. Overall, all the students and teachers had a fantastic time which was full of laughter and fun! 

Students said:

I really appreciate you organising this trip and making it happen! I really enjoyed seeing all the sights and rich culture of the city. My favourite parts were probably the street art tour and the flamenco evening, as both of these were really fun and helped me learn a lot more about the city and Spanish culture. I also definitely feel more confident navigating cities which will be really helpful in the future.  I'm also really thankful to all the other staff that looked after us and helped to organise everything.  

I just wanted to send a thank you to all the staff involved in the Barcelona trip, my daughter had an absolutely brilliant trip, memories made & so much fun!!  I think they even enjoyed the minor blip with the flooding!  So thank you for giving her and her friends this wonderful opportunity, it really is appreciated. 

Parent

Written by Ellie and Amy, Year 11