After braving the freezing weather of Finland in January, our pupils were excited about heading to the Costa del Sol in March. They were envisaging balmy, sunny weather in Malaga, possibly with a trip to the beach. Leaving cold, wet England with great expectations, we were greeted with torrential rain! However, the welcome at our partner school IES Huelin was much warmer. Their teachers and pupils were so friendly and accommodating and had planned a busy programme for us.
The theme of this visit was employment opportunities and sporting events. On Thursday, the host Spanish pupils modelled how to research employment opportunities in your local area; our pupils will complete this research and members of the Comenius group will present their findings when we go to Germany in November. They also participated in a well-planned Economics experiment led by one of the Spanish teachers. On Friday, sports took centre stage and the pupils spent the morning orienteering before heading off to the beach for some games. Thankfully it was a bit warmer and drier by then! Saturday was spent with their host families, exploring the delights of Malaga.
There were hugs and tears at the airport when it was time to leave, and that was just Mr Williams! Friendships were formed and many promises of future visits were made. Our next trip is to Achim, Germany in November, where we will be selling mobile phone holders, made by our year 10

After the balmy weather of Sicily in November, we were plunged into the coldest, darkest winter weather in Tampere, Finland. Tampere often likens itself to the Manchester of Finland, albeit with slightly more snow! The hosts at the Tampere Lyseo, a sixth form college in the heart of the city were extremely welcoming and had planned an extensive programme for our pupils. The aim of this visit was to research the educational opportunities available in Tampere and the local area. Our teachers and pupils were surprised (and a little jealous!) to discover that education is completely free for all in Finland. Many courses at universities are taught in English, with no fees, giving our pupils something to think about for the future. With direct flights from Stansted to Tampere, it definitely is an option to consider when it comes to applying for further education.
Our pupils braved temperatures of -24C to visit the Tampere School of Forestry where they took us on a forest hike and then to a frozen lake. We had a “picnic” of tea/coffee and bread on the lake, but you had to be quick – within 20 minutes the milk had frozen; black coffees all round then! Next up was ice-swimming; roasting yourself in the sauna and then jumping into a frozen lake as many times as you could bear it! The pupils proved themselves much braver than the teachers who passed on this activity, with numerous excuses; not all of them believable!
Next stop is Malaga in March where our pupils will present educational opportunities in England and will lead a sporting event to raise money for a charity of each country’s choice: the money that we raise will go to Cancer Research.

After our students kindly hosted pupils from our partner schools in Finland, Poland, Germany, Italy, Spain and Cornwall at the beginning of the year, it was Sicily’s turn to welcome us to their school. Just after the Halloween holiday two members of our year 10 Comenius group, Lucy Wren and Kane Knight, travelled to the historic town of Palermo in Northern Sicily. We waved goodbye to cold, wet weather and were greeted with sun and temperatures of 20oC! Shorts and t-shirts were taken out of storage and worn with delight only for us to realise that the locals were in coats and scarves; autumn had already arrived for them! The first two days were spent at our partner school, the Liceo Classico (imagine an old-fashioned stone building overlooking a public square with a cathedral) with the other European members of the group. The local pupils modelled how to collect information about your home town and what is available for tourists; this included a visit to the local tourist office and a very informative talk by a local tour guide. Our pupils took note, as they will research and present what tourists can do in Stratford at the next meeting.
Before returning home, we were able to experience some of the wonders of Sicily we had learnt about from the tour guide. Bright and early on Saturday morning we headed off to the coastal town of Cefalù to get lost in the winding back streets of the old town, climb a mountain to see the ruins of an old monastery and paddle our toes in the sea.
Next stop: Finland in January. Better pack the woolly hats and gloves!