SHS in the News

The ABC of SHS around the world ...

Paris visit April 2009

Amsterdam, Barbados, Costa Rica, Downtown Paris, Everglades, Florida, Ghost Walks, Havana, Iceland….. as well as the wide variety of visits to local and national places of interest, the pupils at Sheffield High School have travelled far and wide throughout this school year! Over 200 girls from the senior school alone have been on residential visits abroad during the academic year! Their experiences have included:

• The School Band, including girls from all years, toured Amsterdam to play in four concerts at Senior Citizens’ Homes, at a shopping mall and at a church during October half term
• The Senior Hockey and Netball teams travelled to Barbados to play a total of 15 matches against the Bajans. Not only did they come back with more wins than losses in these international fixtures, but they also came back with a taste of the roots and rhythms of the island. Swimming with the turtles was certainly one to remember!
• Some 13 to 15 year old explorers visited Costa Rica and Cuba at Easter including the Caribbean coast, the Arenal volcanic area, the Monteverde Cloud Forest, Havana and Pinar del Rio around Vinales where they learned about the people and their culture, about the bugs, butterflies and frogs and even how to dance the Salsa!
• Downtown Paris was the destination for the 14 to 16 years old visiting France where they practised French whilst visiting Versailles, the Eiffel Tower, the Orangerie, Notre-Dame and Montmartre.
• The Everglades was just one of the exciting days out when the Sixth Form were hosted by their email friends at The Benjamin School in Palm Beach, Florida during February half term. The girls stayed with families, attended school and visited Miami University. Quote: “We were amazed by how different the lifestyle is. Life seemed to move at a slower pace, there was more time for leisure – which is certainly helped by the weather and school seemed more laid back than in England.”
• Ghost Walks… “On the second night, we decided to face our fears and finally agreed to wander through a moonlit park in the dead of night. Our ghost walk guide, also known as Mark, clothed in a black cape and hat, took us around the park with a single lantern making every shadow seem scary. ‘Gromblers’ jumped out at us around corners, making us scream and run at every cracking twig. Finally the walk was over and we felt safe enough to scurry home to hide. Little did we know that our grombling friends were not prepared to say goodbye yet. Our bus had been invaded! The walk was really fun and we had a great time.” … the words of Year 10 students Harriet Daly and Shalaka Darshane written to describe just one of the activities on the Isle of Wight Creative Writing Trip.

• A geology visit to Iceland in February half term gave the opportunity for 14 to 18 year olds to visit Reykjavik, Vik and the Mid Atlantic Ridge. They walked through the ridge, swam in thermal pools, visited the Folklore Museum and examined the Icelandic landscape – often through blizzard conditions.

With two more visits still to take place this year to Murcia in Spain and California, USA, could we complete the alphabet?