“On Monday 5th December, 60 Saint Nicholas history students departed for Berlin, to explore places of historical significance, to enrich their GCSE studies. At Saint Nicholas School, we believe that students learn best when they can see, hear, and experience things first-hand; participating in curriculum trips of this nature, supports students in gaining real-world experience, that cannot be taught in a classroom, opening their minds to different cultures and strengthening their knowledge of the world around them.
Throughout our three-day trip, the Saint Nicholas students were immersed in the history of Berlin and visits to the Berlin Wall, The Reichstag Building, the T4 Memorial, the Brandenburg Gate, the German Resistance Memorial Center and the Holocaust Memorial, provided them with first-hand experience to embed their classroom learning. Of paramount importance to a trip of this nature, is for students to engage emotionally, as emotions enhance memory and lead to deeper and more permanent learning.
One of the elements that I was most impressed with, alongside our students’ conduct and subject knowledge, was their engagement and maturity, when faced with very emotionally challenging stimuli, especially at former concentration camp, Sachsenhausen.
As well as the curriculum aspects of the trip, we also had the opportunity to visit The Olympiastadion, several of Berlin’s Christmas markets, for a spot of Christmas shopping, alongside taking in the sights and sounds of this vibrant city. It was a trip that will live long in the hearts and minds of all the students that attended and one I would thoroughly recommend to other schools seeking an enrichment trip of this nature.”
If you have recently been on a school trip, we’d love to hear from you! Get in touch by emailing contact@globalschoolalliance.com.
