St Bede's Abroad

A key component of our educational philosophy is preparation for life in the world at large. From the beginning, our students are involved in activities which extend their experience beyond the School campus. In addition to our programme of local community activities, they visit universities, museums, art galleries, the Houses of Parliament, the Old Bailey and local businesses. Clubs and sporting activities can take them further afield, to Europe, America and Asia.

An ambitious programme of educational visits ensures that some aspects of all subjects are taught on location as well as in the classroom. The programme is comprehensive and varies from year to year. Recent activities have included a geography field trip to the Isle of Arran, an art trip to Mexico and visits to study European First World War battlefields.

Extra-curricular activities also frequently involve membership of clubs outside school, taking students off campus. We have a regular programme of visits to institutions such as the BBC and Sussex University, theatre trips to London, visits to a local farm and even scuba diving in the Red Sea.

Students have the opportunity to go on many different trips during the School year. Some might just be day trips to London to visit galleries and museums or to local towns to study flood plains and development.

Other trips might be as far afield as Canada or South America. Most are related to subjects studied, but there is always the ski trip in the Easter Holidays for relaxation. Here is just a taste of some of the countries recently experienced by St Bede's students.

HEAT AND DUST AND A MULE IS A MUST

Morocco is a country that has its roots in Africa but its leaves in Europe! How very true we found this to be when St Bede's Geography department visited this fascinating country in February.

Our journey started in the city of Marrakech. The city was hot, dusty, loud and rather frightening at times. On leaving the city the landscape quickly became very rural - the car replaced by the Mercedes of the mountains - the mule. The Atlas Mountains loomed ahead. Tiny mud-houses clung to the cliff-sides. Terraced fields and intricate irrigation systems attempted to tame the steep, bare-rock slopes. The Berber people had always been fiercely independent. They never succumbed to French rule. They spoke a different language here and led a totally different lifestyle. As we neared Imlil, we realised that we were seeing a different side to the urban Morocco we'd left behind.

Our hotel, Kasbah du Toubkal, was perched on a rocky outcrop 1800m up with snow-covered mountain peaks providing an impressive backdrop. Over the next few days the students tried to ascertain whether tourism had made a positive impact here in Imlil. The hotel itself certainly made us re-evaluate the many negatives of tourism perhaps seen in Tenerife. This hotel was set up with the intention of giving something back to the local community. A share of the profits returns to the villagers. The hotel uses renewable solar energy. It employs local people. It sources raw materials locally and supports the local school. This was a true example of sustainable tourism and we could not help but be impressed.

We crossed the Atlas mountain chain and descended to the edge of the Sahara and the town of Zagora. The people here battled with the sand, not always winning as seen at Tinfou. We expected the weather to be hotter in the desert but in fact found that we had brought good old English weather with us. Whilst camping in the desert we experienced the first rain that they had had here for 3 months! We learnt that camels were not as grumpy as they looked but that they were incredibly uncomfortable to ride. Our hosts in the desert sang, danced and played drums as the sun went down. Max, George, Alistair and Chris ran up and down dunes! The girls worked on their tans by the pool. The staff dressed up as Blue Men of the desert - it made a change from Monks in the Kasbah.

Back in Marrakech we all felt rather sad to be nearing the end of our holiday; but we still had some serious shopping to do. Miss Campbell had already perfected the technique of haggling and I'm sure would still be there had Mr Walker not dragged her out of the last shop! Shopping was certainly far more fun in the souks of Marrakech where every price is negotiable than the local supermarket back home. In fact, I am not sure that the Djmaa El Fnaa was ready for 29 students haggling to obtain the best prices to purchase poufs for the new boarding house. My return luggage weighed in at 39 kilos - somewhat over my baggage allowance - but what can you expect with over 30 poufs neatly packed into a bag the size of a small car.

I would like to thank all 29 students who travelled with the staff to Morocco. Mr Walker, Mr Hart, Miss Campbell and I all agreed that you made fine travelling companions on a trip that did seem like more of a holiday to us too!

Sarah Quinn, Director of Studies

Mountain high

Having visited Lake Louise back in 2003, and experienced the fabulous dry powder snow of the Canadian Rockies, we decided to head back to Canada in 2007, this time to the quieter picturesque resort of Jasper, situated right in the middle of the National Park.

Our long journey to Edmonton was rewarded when we awoke the first morning to find ourselves surrounded by magnificent snow-capped mountains. At an altitude of over 8570 feet, the highest peaks had the group speechless, as they took their first breath of pure mountain air and looked up at the jagged Rockies of the Marmot basin.

With an excellent snow base topped up by continuous snowfall on our first day, students soon relaxed into the swing of things, skiing and riding hard throughout the day and chilling out in the evening. As ever, the hotel's pool and hot tub proved popular as students discussed the highlights of the day on the piste, including the latest wipe-out! Mr Reynolds, new to snowboarding, had a few falls, but this was short-lived as he abandoned his snowboard in favour of his trusty skis. Meanwhile, Jamie Kedge pondered the photos of his latest jump and Liam Foglietta considered whether he could justify yet another new set of skis! All students enjoyed the presence of a group of Canadian students in our hotel, in particular Charlotte Scott, Danielle Collier, Fiona Tawse and Izzi Allies, but in the end Karl Jones was the undoubted Romeo of the ski trip, having to be prised away from his Canadian girlfriend a few minutes before our departure!

Breakfasts were a highlight of the trip as we fuelled up for the day with delicious Canadian bacon, sausages, pancakes and maple syrup. After a brief 25 minute transfer to the base lodge (with occasional impersonations of staff courtesy of Nick Crane!), we met up with our instructors who looked after us throughout the stay. While the majority were keen to get onto the mountain as soon as possible, the leader of Miss McKenna's post beginners ski group insisted on several warm up exercises, and a regular morning spectacle was to see the group members lined up along a makeshift gym rail stretching their initially reluctant muscles. It all paid off, though, and perhaps contributed to our second ever trip with zero injuries.

On our final day in Jasper we headed into town to be kitted out for an ice walk in Maligne Canyon. Once decked out with special boots and spikes, we trekked along the edge or the ravine before descending into the canyon and walking along the frozen riverbed for an hour. The thick ice which had seemed so impressive from above took on a whole new dimension as we marvelled at its purity and listened to the sound of the flowing river water several feet below.

All in all it was a most successful trip with no injuries and a wonderful group of students who were a credit to St Bede's. Our return visit to Canada was a great experience and Jasper lived up to its reputation as a world class resort.

Andrew Walker, Head of Modern Foreign Languages

Outdoor Pursuits

Transporting our new First Year students en mass to Derbyshire, half-way through their first term, is now established as a great St Bede's tradition.

They set off for days of pot-holing, abseiling, caving, horse-riding and more, in trepidation, having heard gruesome tales from the Lower Fifth.

They return, having had a wonderful time along with the opportunity of really getting to know one another.

‘Fast, scary and an adrenaline rush.'
Theo Winstone

‘It was brilliantly fun and, at times blooming scary.'
Chloe Hardwick

‘I made new friends, enjoyed fun activities and had a great time.'
Aidan Culley

‘Being cold, wet and scared isn't usually fun; on the O-P trip it just made it exciting'
Dale Ash

‘A new friend, excitement, adrenaline, cold, but it was all amazing'
James Copper

‘Exhilarating, exhausting but all in all, exciting.'
Pippa Pocock

‘Wet socks, dirty clothes and great activities - a chance to meet all the year.'
Holly Funnel

‘If you want more friends, more laughter, mud and fun activities, then the O-P trip is the place for you'.
Emma Carberry

‘A great time to make friends and an unforgettable experience; memories I will hold on to forever'.
George Dyer

‘Wet, muddy, and cold enough to get you shivering. At this point the hot chocolate never tasted better'.
James Auer

‘All about having fun with new friends and, of course, the old ones'.
Alex Roberts

OUT OF AFRICA

There are very few words that could fully describe the experience enjoyed by the twenty-one students and staff who spent four weeks in Uganda last summer, but ‘awe-inspiring' and ‘moving' might be a start.

The main aim of the trip was to spend some time in the small rural village of Kabubbu to see the work of the local Hailsham charity Quicken Trust which St Bede's has been helping to support for the past two years. Team leaders Lou Belrhiti and Cherie Smithyman had visited Kabubbu in the Summer of 2005 and, whilst there, decided that it would be a great to return with a group of St Bede's students together with a handful of staff members to increase the links between St Bede's and the two Kabubbu schools - the Community Primary School and the new Trust High school. So that's precisely what we did.

This trip was by far the best experience of my life. The moment I stepped off the plane and took my first breath the smell of Africa hit me. The first few days were spent acclimatising in Kampala which was extremely exciting. We spent a day white-water rafting on the river Nile; learnt to use the local transport (motorbike taxis!) and money; familiarised ourselves with the food and some local customs; practised our language skills and generally found our Uganda feet. Then on to Kabubbu.

Kabubbu-The Projects

Where do we begin? As we drew near the village in our old bus it was overwhelming to see all the local families greeting us, mums with babies and children waving and running after us. I must admit I became a little tearful. The first morning we all had to introduce ourselves at the primary school assembly and tell the children a little about ourselves. During the two weeks we were there we lived in the grounds of the primary school and were all involved in several projects. Some of us took lessons in different subjects at the primary school and even at the high school; we took assembly several times; made a clay oven; installed a solar powered lighting system; visited families; helped out at sports day; and shared in some local cultural events including three different church services. We also built a house for a woman whose previous one had fallen down. That was hard work but very rewarding and we will leave you to imagine her reaction when we had finished. After each day's work there were legendary evenings of fun with the students of our own age from the High School - games of football, a quiz night, a film night, a play, singing and dancing.

The toughest but most eye-opening thing we did was the family visits. Seeing the living conditions of the villagers was a shock to most of us but perhaps the moment when we learned most. It was a privilege to be allowed to see the homes, meet the families and make friends with these lovely people. We were all very upset to leave. The friendships that I have made will be with me for the rest of my life and there are so many memories that will stay with me forever.

After Kabubbu

The daring among us returned to Jinja to go bungee jumping: I thought I'd left my stomach at the top. After that we had a long journey to spend a couple of nights in Queen Elizabeth Safari park, stopping in Fort Portal for a relaxed lunch. We spent that evening in Kasese and were unexpectedly entertained by the Cadet Corps Choir. Early the next morning we were up for a venture into a bat cave and a river boat trip between Lake George and Lake Edward, seeing elephants bathing, hippos, Nile crocodile, buffalo, Uganda kob and 63 different types of birds including the "Crested Crane" - Uganda's National Bird which appears on its flag.

On the way back to Kampala we stopped at the Equator for a look in the craft stores and some ceremonious shots on the actual Line. After long day we at last got back to Kampala and quickly caught our breath before our reward - a relaxing long weekend on the Ssesse Islands in Lake Victoria spent fishing and playing beach volleyball, sitting round the camp fire and, of course, enjoying the hospitality and the location.

The trip ended in on a great note with a celebratory Indian meal, which was most welcome. Thanks very much to Mrs B in particular and very well done to everyone. We were all rewarded with a souvenir to remind us of a trip of a lifetime.

To put it in a nutshell, there are very few words that can describe the experience we had, but our best advice is go and experience it for yourself, realise how lucky you are and cherish every moment. You can start by visiting http://www.quickentrust.com/ and click on ‘Tourism'.

Nick Crane & Matt Armstrong Ford