San Anton School Grade 7 students visit Staffordshire

For the second year running, Grade 7 students from San Anton Middle School spent a week in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. This was possible due to the twinning programme with Cooper Perry Primary School in Seighford.

This year 24 students, accompanied by four teachers, made the trip and were lodged at Wedgwood Memorial College in Barlaston.

The programme included visits to Cadbury World in Birmingham and Chester Zoo. At Cadbury World the group was shown around the factory and was also given different chocolates to taste.

The students were also taken to Magabowl for a game of bowling and to Waterworld, an indoor water park. A day's shopping at Trafford Centre in Manchester was also included.

At the Black Country Living Museum the group was 'transported' back to Victorian times and found themselves at a Victorian school. A short time later they had the experience of being recruited for the First World War (1914-1918).

The students were taken down a coal mine and went on a tour of the canals which run underground for hundreds of metres. At the museum they lunched on traditional fish and chips.

Another visit took the group to Cannock Chase, a protected national park, and to Shugborough, one of the many estates of Lord Lichfield. Here the children experienced being kitchen servants in the service of Lord Lichfield.

Undoubtedly, the most memorable experience was when the children were paired up and hosted by the English families for a day. They all came back in the evening recounting their day's activities.

That same evening, a barbecue was organised in the grounds of Cooper Perry School, where the teachers and students were able to mingle with the host parents.

This annual visit to England has quickly become one of the highlights in San Anton Middle School's calendar, as it is regarded by staff and parents alike, as an unequalled learning experience for the children.

Now we are all looking forward to the visit of the Cooper Perry students to Malta in October, when a number of activities are being planned that should leave them with pleasant memories of their Malta visit.