School Trip to Spain: El Puerto de Santa Maria and Cadiz
Pocklington – June 2023
We were really happy to welcome Pocklington School for the first time in June 2023 in El Puerto de Santa María ! The group stayed with us in Spark Residence where they took part in our Spanish classes and learned about the Spanish culture through the many cultural activities that the Spark team had organized.
The group arrived in Spark very, very late on thursday, so they did not really get to know the Spark team, so we can say that their very first day was friday.
On friday, everyone started with a Spanish lesson and then got ready to a walking tour through El Puerto de Santa Maria, also they went to the market to buy the ingredients for the paella they made later that week. For the afternoon, everyone went to visit the Castle of El Puerto, then walked down to the beach, had some free time on the beach and played sport. To end the day, everyone headed off to the park for a little chill-out time, some were playing rugby, some volleyball and some with the classic games such as slides, playhouses, huts and swing sets. It was a really great time for everyone, even the teachers played along.
Their third day started with a good breakfast and then directly got ready for the rota activities : they had three typical Spanish classes. They made paella with Iris, had a Flamenco dance class with Lucia, and in their Spanish class with Laura and Noelia, they made postcards about their trip. After 4 rounds everyone moved to the roof and enjoyed the delicious paella everyone made. The next destination was the pádel lesson, everyone had fun ! Once back to Spark, the group got ready and then went to eat tapas outside. On the way back to the residence, everyone gathered on the rooftop to enjoy the beautiful view of the moon, accompanied by soft Spanish melodies.
Sunday, big day, Cadiz day, walking day. Despite some unexpected events, the chaperone, the teachers and the students were all brave enough to make sure the day ended well. They visited Torre Tavira, ate churros con chocolate, walked through Genovés park and had some free time for shopping and seeing more of the city. After a really long day, they finally got back to El Puerto, and had their departure ceremony later that night on the rooftop. Everyone got a Spanish certificate from Spark and little gifts from their professors, and there was also a short election, prepared by the teachers, about the best students in each activity like for example cooking or dancing. To close the day and Pocklington’s stay beautifully, everyone had a one last dance with Spark team on the roof.
For the last day, after breakfast, they left us very early and set off again for Gibraltar where they left for the UK.
We enjoyed our time with Pocklington here and hope it was a memorable experience for everyone.
Wish to do a similar tour to Pocklington?
