Years 8 and 9 German Christmas Market Trip

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Düsseldorf 2024

‘What a trip! Four days! We did it all, travelling through 4 countries, Christmas markets in Köln and Düsseldorf, der Kölner Dom, das Schokoladenmuseum, swimming, Phantasialand, der Fernsehturm, shopping and we even managed to visit our partner school in Erkrath. Our students were able to meet the partners they had been writing to during the year, in person.

Parents and students in our partner school, das Gymnasium an Neandertal (Gymneander) organised a Christmas party with German seasonal food. We shared English traditions (mince pies, crackers and a Lucky Dip) and were entertained by a Year 9 class with a song in German and in English. Our students also attended 2 lessons to get a taste of what it is like to learn in a German School.

St Nikolaus, who normally comes on the night of 5th- 6th December, came 5 days early to put some chocolate in the shoes we left outside the door of our hotel rooms.

The German department are very proud of our 48 students from year 8, 9 and 10 who took it all in their stride. They were fantastic ambassadors for Presdales and our country. I even heard them talking German to each other. Well done to them all!

We hope the pictures and the comments from students give you a flavour of this exciting trip.

This was the best trip EVER!

I liked being in a German school. They have huge corridors and it was very chilled.

My favourite part was going to the German school. It seemed really strange at first, but they try to get everyone involved in the lessons. I found the chalk boards in all the classrooms a bit strange. All the students have iPads. They don’t wear uniform and start and finish earlier.

The school was chill with no seating plans, no uniform and no homework. Phones were allowed in the class I was in.

It was great to see the school. It was interesting to get to know another culture.

I enjoyed going to the cathedral so much, that we nearly got left behind, because we were taking so many pictures.

My favourite part was going Phantasialand because I went on loads of rides. I also enjoyed the Christmas markets as I got to buy nice things and try different foods.

I enjoyed the journey as I could spend many hours watching animations without someone telling me to stop.

I had the best time at the Chocolate museum with lots of free tasting and I got presents for my family.

One of my favourite things we did was to go to Phantasialand, but I also enjoyed swimming, the Christmas markets and especially meeting our partners. I loved all of these since they were fun and we met new people. I also enjoyed seeing Germany. I just wished; we had more time!

I loved the TV Tower. It was so high. I also ticked something off my bucket list ‘eat a pretzel in Germany’.

Phantasialand was the best. F.L.Y is a must when you visit.

I enjoyed the Christmas Markets because there was lots of present options. I also enjoyed the slides in the water park. They were really fun!

I have never been to a proper Christmas market like the German ones before, so it was magical and beautiful to see and experience. It was an amazing opportunity for gifts and souvenirs. I am so grateful to have gone on this trip and I hope to go again!

It was quite fun for me because I had never been to Germany before, and I have not been to another country where I know at least some of the language.

The TV Tower was great fun. We leant on the glass and looked down. The view was amazing and very pretty.

I was so scared going up the TV Tower but I face d my fear! I leant on the glass and got great pictures.

Year 11 History Trip to Berlin: Friday 18th October to Monday 21st October 2024

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Friday 18th October

Early on Friday the group met, bleary-eyed, at Stansted Airport at 5am ready to commence the trip. As soon as we landed we were transferred to the hotel to quickly turn around again to go into the centre of Berlin to meet with our guides for a brief walking tour. Some of the sites included: Courtyard of German Resistance Museum, the site of the Von Stauffenberg Bomb Plot, Rosa Luxemburg Memorial and the Victory Column.

Some of our route was cordoned off due to the unexpected visit of President Joe Biden of the USA. However, the weather was kind and the students were getting used to the geography and transport system of Berlin. Eventually we made it back to the hotel for dinner and well-earned rest after a very early start.

Saturday 19th October

After a fulfilling breakfast and a good night’s rest the group departed the hotel for a full day in the centre of Berlin with Miss Workman as the tour guide. Visits included the following:

Unguided visit to Topography of Terror.

External View of Reichstag Dome.

Soviet War Memorial, Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust Memorial, Site of Hitlers Bunker, External View of Checkpoint Charlie, Bebelplatz.

Unguided visit to German History Museum.

After having walked some 10 miles or so, we trudged back to the hotel for a rest before going to the Cinema in the evening. We went to see Beetlejuice 2.

Sunday 20th October

Today was a somber day and one of reflection in terms of the level of persecution and murder committed by the Nazis. Ploetzensee Memorial – our first visit was to a now youth offenders’ prison but the site of the execution of any people who opposed the Nazi regime and in particular those who were implicated in the attempted assassination of Hitler in July 1944. Afterwards we then ventured to the site of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, situated in the former British sector during the Cold War, and we had a very informative tour led by volunteers who work at the stadium. We then had lunch at Remus Restaurant. This would have been in the former Soviet zone and some of the decor resembled what it might have looked like during the GDR. After lunch we were then met by our guides who gave us a tour of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. The guides were very informative and interesting and were keen to tell us that the Concentration camp was mostly for political prisoners during the Nazi regime and not a death camp, although there was a site of a furnace used to burn some Jews who died or were killed there. To finish off the day we ended at Platform 17 or the Deportation Memorial Track – the site of where trains left Berlin destined for concentration camps and death camps in the East.

We returned to the hotel for a rest, dinner and then we went bowling.

Monday 21st October

After checking out of the hotel we ventured to Bernauer Strasse, a memorial to the Berlin Wall and its construction in August 1961. From there we then travelled across Berlin to the site of a Stasi Prison – in operation in the GDR and part of our Cold War study. The tour was chilling and demonstrated how prisoners were treated by East German secret police. To end our tour we had lunch and free time for shopping before heading back to the airport to catch our flight home.

In sum total we walked a mere 37 miles and we saw so many historical sites that have brought our study of the past, and Germany in particular, to life. It was certainly a memorable tour.

Thank you to the History department for organising it.

Year 13 Psychology Trip

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Year 13 Psychology Trip to Krakow, Poland

Last month 30 Year 13 psychology students visited Krakow, Poland visiting the site of one of the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau and learning more about the politics and social history during the time of the Nazi invasion of Poland.

Our first day in Krakow began with a traditional Polish street food style lunch of Zapiekanka; a delicious open sandwich with a vast array of fillings to choose from. Our tour guide took us on a walking tour round the Jewish Quarter, Kaziemierz where we visited a beautiful synagogue. She gave us an insight into what it would have been like to live as a Jewish person living in Nazi occupied Poland, having to hide in fear of being caught or being sent away from your home and family.

The tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau on Day 2 was insightful as much as it was harrowing. Piles of children’s shoes, locks of women’s hair and rows of black-and-white photographed faces, identified by numbers on striped pyjamas, stared back at us as we followed a tour guide. The vast array of physical memories of who had been there before brought home the shocking reality of just how many families were unjustly torn apart. The students were confronted with stories of incomprehensible cruelty, hardship and the strength of human spirit in the face of adversity and they were able to use their psychological knowledge and understanding to help them make sense of all of these aspects of humanity. One particularly poignant story was of a priest who volunteered to take the place of another prisoner who had been sentenced to death; one selfless act of many in a camp that was so unforgiving.

As some light relief following on from the day’s events, we ventured into Kraków Old Town where we were shown some of the main sights including the castle (with the famous dragon – which actually breathed fire!) and St Mary’s Basillica where we were able to sit and admire the beautiful architecture and reflect on our experiences from the day. Students were then given some free time to explore the large market square, soaking in the beauty of the surroundings and looking at the array of stalls before we headed to a local Polish restaurant to experience traditional food, folklore and dance.

On our final day, we had the opportunity to listen to a story of strength and resilience told by a lady who’s immediate family had been impacted by the holocaust. We learned about the suffering experienced but also how the Jewish community recovered and healed in the years following the war.

It was a particularly poignant time to visit ahead of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the students embraced every aspect of the experience with humility and maturity, taking away memories that will last a lifetime.

‘Visiting Auschwitz was a shocking and emotional yet fascinating experience that will definitely stay with me forever’ – Lola Gardner

‘It was an experience we were grateful to have had as it’s important to try and understand why these sorts of events happen and how we can try to prevent them from occurring again.’

Politics Trip to New York and Washington DC – October 2024

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