In February half term 2023 a group of Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Form students, accompanied by Mrs Iglesias and Dr Tapia, travelled to Salamanca, Spain on a language and cultural trip.
The trip was a fun-packed immersive experience, where pupils had the opportunity to immerse themselves into the Spanish language and culture, attending language lessons in the morning as an intensive course for their GCSE and A Level studies, practising the language with their host families and trying Spanish food during mealtimes. We were greeted by the lovely host families in Salamanca on Saturday afternoon and welcomed by Miguel and his team, from Colegio Delibes. In the evening we enjoyed a stroll in the cobbled streets before we found our way to La Plaza Mayor, from the XVIII century, one of the most stunning monumental squares in Europe. On Sunday, pupils had guided trips of the beautiful cathedrals in Salamanca and the old area. Our tour guide, Maria Jose, taught us some interesting facts, for example that Salamanca hosts the oldest university in Europe, and legends, such as that if you manage to find a frog hidden in the beautiful carving stonework above the Puerta de Salamanca façade at university, you will pass your exams. A few streets away, we enjoyed finding new, more modern decorations in the façade of the New Cathedral, such as a gargoyle eating ice cream or an astronaut.
In the week, after some hard work in lessons taught by native speakers, we had several planned trips and activities. One of the most enjoyable ones was the visit to Arapiles, where the famous “Battle of Arapiles” took place in 1812, which ended with the victory of the army led by the Duke of Wellington and led to the liberation of Spain from the Napoleonic forces. We admired the beautiful views from the fields, and we saw the magnificent detail and care put into recreating this battle in the simulation centre. Isabel, born in Arapiles, accompanied us on this trip, and it was wonderful to hear the pride with which she narrated the festival that takes place every summer to commemorate the battle and those who died in it. This was a quiet and sleepy village, in the heart of inland Spain, only twenty kilometres south of Salamanca, but a real gem. Other activities included a salsa lesson taught by a professional dancer, a cookery lesson in which pupils were introduced to a Spanish delicacy, a Spanish omelette and non-alcoholic sangria, and taking part in a photo competition with the talented graffities as a background in the contemporary and art nouveau “Barrio del Oeste”. Amongst the business of the day, pupils also had the opportunity to develop their language skills going into souvenir shops or patisseries and taste some of the delicacies of the region.
We would like to thank Colegio Delibes for their hospitality and Halsbury Travel for their help organising this wonderful trip and for allowing Downside pupils to have this experience, which I know they will never forget. We look forward to returning to Salamanca very soon.
