It was a case of second time lucky for our hotly anticipated Spanish immersion trip earlier this month, after our first flight was cancelled because of the French air traffic controllers’ strike.

But that didn’t deter our Spanish adventure and with something of a sense of déjà vu just over a week later, we set out for the second time to Stansted bound for Bilbao and the small coastal village of Comillas in northern Spain.

Our wonderful host, Jose Herrera, who organised the trip in Bilbao, met us at the airport and took us off to our hotel. After a swim in the pool before dinner, we had a ‘relatively’ early night to be ready for our first action-packed day and experience all that Spain had to offer.

This began with several hours of intensive Spanish tuition in the beautiful historic tourist centre-cum-town hall with Ana and Estella. We then departed for El Soplao, an amazing network of caves with some of the finest examples of stalactites and stalagmites in Europe.

Day 2 began with a visit to a Spanish school ‘Antonio Robinet’ where our students had the opportunity to put what they had learned into practice with Spanish students of a similar age. It didn’t take long for our students to get into the spirit of Spanish culture with some of them learning some traditional Flamenco dancing while the rest took part in a football tournament with our Spanish hosts.

We then went for some retail therapy in a shopping mall in Santander followed by more culture at the Capriche de Gaudi, a wonderful art deco house designed by Gaudi himself.

Day 3 we set out early for a trip to the Cabarceno Wildlife Park. Spanning across acres of parkland, our students enjoyed seeing a whole variety of wild animals up close including bears, rhinos, elephants, tigers, leopards and much more. We were even treated to a spectacular falconry display and a thrilling cable car ride which took us high above the tree tops.

On our return to the hotel we enjoyed a Spanish treat of ‘churros and chocolate’ before a treasure hunt around the village aided by the local villagers which gave us the opportunity to practise our Spanish. After another swim followed by dinner, our students couldn’t resist some more flamenco practice before we headed for bed.

Day 4 started with Spanish immersion lessons in Comillas with Ana and Estella before heading out to the museum at Altamira. We enjoyed a traditional lunch of paella followed by a visit to a replica of the prehistoric caves of Altamira, renowned for its numerous cave paintings of local fauna and human hands.

Our visit was almost at an end but not before Alis explained about prehistoric man and showed how to make fire without matches! A spectacular end to an action packed and exciting trip.

Stoke College extends our special thanks to Mrs Smith and Miss Stansfield for organising and accompanying the trip, and to our students who were excellent ambassadors for the school throughout the trip.

Mr Moss and Jacob, who laid our wreath

At 11.00 am on Friday 10th November, all students and staff gathered at the Stoke by Clare war memorial which commemorates the soldiers of the First and Second World Wars. We were very pleased to welcome parents and members of the local community to join with us for the first time.

Mr Jaina led the ceremony, delivering a talk about the significance of the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917, before Year 9 students gave readings about four of the men from Stoke by Clare who were killed in action during the First World War. That two of these soldiers were brothers, and that two other men of the Pledger family were killed during the war, made this even more poignant.

Jacob and Ebbie, two of our Army cadet students, laid a wreath and cross of remembrance, and Olivia read The Crosses, a contemporary poem of remembrance by Bill Mitton.

Mr Moss, an Army veteran, led The Last Post, two minutes’ silence followed by The Reveille, as we all reflected on the loss of life in conflicts past and present.

Students reflect during the ceremony

On Wednesday 11 October all students in Years 7 and 8, along with all GCSE Drama students, travelled to London for a two-part trip to The Tower of London and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, there to watch Much Ado About Nothing.

After travelling by coach we gathered at the Tower of London and received our entry wristbands, ready to explore all there was to see inside. Split into groups, we marvelled at the Crown Jewels; having studied this period in History lessons, we could easily see why Charles II is now referred to as the King of Bling!

Charles II with some of the robes and royal jewels that we saw on display

We also took in The Bloody Tower, where Richard III is alleged to have killed the two princes, and the tower cells where many famous people have been held prisoner over the centuries, from the the Tudor Princess Elizabeth to the Kray twins. The weather was even warm enough for us to sample the delicious ice cream!

After enjoying our packed lunched we started our walk across Tower Bridge to Southwark, stopping for photos and to take in the sights on the South Bank. Although it began to drizzle, we all loved seeing the London sights from Tower Bridge.

After lightening a few purses in the gift shop, we took our places in the Yard at Shakespeare’s Globe, ready for Much Ado About Nothing to begin. Transported to the Mexican Revolution of 1914, this was an incredibly colourful, noisy and physical performance. We loved having the actors and actresses move among us as we stood: we were so close to the action and the GCSE Drama students were able to take lots of notes on the production.

We all had an incredible day out and are looking forward to more theatre trips this year and next! Many thanks to Mrs Hunn-Smith and Mr Jaina for organising the trip, and to Mrs Bull, Mr Bennett and Mrs Waite for joining us.