Year 10 & 11 Latin Trip To Rome
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At 3 o'clock in the morning on the 17th January, 35 very sleepy and excited Y10 and 11 students (along with Ms Futo, Ms Bradshaw, Ms Flaender, Ms Poulton, Mr Jalil and myself), set off on what would turn out to be a truly fabulous weekend in Rome.
From the moment we arrived in the ancient Roman port city of Ostia, history came alive around us. We saw the tombstones lining the streets outside the city, the insulae where the port workers lived, and teachers even purchased an (imaginary) cup of Roman wine from Y10 students behind the bar of a perfectly preserved Roman popina.
Despite the rain and the almost 30,000 steps taken each day, there was not a moment when students weren't smiling, singing, gasping and asking questions. Energised by huge breakfasts of croissants, pancakes, fruit and coffee, followed by a steady diet of pizza, pasta and gelato, we took in all the sites of the ancient city: the Colosseum, the palaces of the Palatine Hill, the temple of Vesta in the Forum, the Pantheon, the temple of Hercules besides the river Tiber and much more. We even traced the path of an aqueduct which snakes through the the basement of a fancy shopping centre, and emerges from the Trevi Fountain.
We also visited the Vatican, where it was amazing to see the statues of Roman emperors and their families alongside the grandeur of the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica. A huge thank you to all the teachers who gave up their weekends, as well as those back in school who helped so much with the organisation. I also want to thank all the students who came with us and made it such a fun and special experience.
Ms Cheetham, Head of Latin
This January, the Y10s and 11s went on a 4-day trip to Rome! It was an incredible experience that has broadened my knowledge on so many things, and helped with my Latin GCSE.
On ther first day, we took the journey from London, Heathrow, to our first destination, Ostia Antica! There, we looked around the wonderfully preserved city, and had lunch in the lovely town surrounding the site. We ended the day with a meal out and then got ready for day 2!
Day two was beyond brilliant, the highlight being our visit to the Vatican, and being able to go to the Sistine Chapel. It was amazing being able to look around and see so many amazing statues and paintings.
On day 3, we had a jam-packed agenda, including going to the Colosseum, Forum Romanum, Palatine Hill and even the remains of the Circus Maximus.
On day 4, we were sad to say goodbye, but excited to see the amazing Pantheon! Before leaving the airport, we also went to the Ara Pacis, to see the beautiful altar of peace.
I am beyond grateful to have had this experience with my friends, and thankful for a teacher as wonderful as Ms Cheetham to have take the time to organise this; none of us will ever forget such an amazing and interesting trip!
Molly M 10H
The 2025 Rome trip was a really incredible experience!!! The journey there was really fun (even though we woke up at 1am): the coach trip and the plan ride was such a really fun experience to be able to do with our friends.
We started our trip by seeing Ostia Antica, which was an ancient port city. Seeing it in person was a surreal experience, as everything that we were learning about came to life by seeing it in person. After that we went back to the Hotel Cross, which was really nice and we got to stay in our room with our friends, but also stayed in a room with some people we didn't know, however it gave us an opportunity to make new friends.
On the second day, we went to Vatican City and on the way we visited some really amazing sites around the city. Seeing all the sites that we learn about really gave us a sense of broadening our knowledge and really getting an idea of what it was actually like for the Romans.
On the third day, we saw the Forum Romanum, Forum Boarium and the Colosseum which was super cool too and such an amazing experience to see with our friends.
For food we had breakfast at the hotel (the pancakes were the best), for lunch the hotel provided us some packed lunches but we had opportunities to get food out in the restaurants in our free time and for dinner we went to restaurants, having the Italian's specials for pizza and pasta!!!
Back on the journey home we were all really happy and really grateful for such an incredible experience. We all wanted to say a massive thank you to Ms Cheetham for organising such an amazing trip and taking us all, it created memories for us that will last a lifetime. A thank you for all the other teachers who spared their time for us, it was a 10/10 trip!!!!
Karinaa S 10H
It was honestly the most wonderful trip! We saw so many amazing things like the Colosseum, the Vatican Museums, the Ostia Antica and so many more! I'm so grateful to all the amazing teachers that came on this trip and how fun they made this experience.
Ada G 10S
