London Trip June 2011 Wednesday 22nd June 2011 COUPE GREEN PRIMARY SCHOOL Learning together, supporting each other After a tearful farewell, waving mums and dads off, we headed down the M6. We made great time, playing the coach trip alphabet game. Oliver Cass, Ben Greenwood, George Nelson and Jake Fong were the winning team. We stopped at Knutsford services for a quick 'comfort break' and to collect our driver Peter. The next bit of the trip meant quiz time! Sadly the team of teachers could not name any members of JLS, and there was a very wide range of answers for 'How do you tell the Queen is at home in Buckingham Palace?' (You can see her dancing, apparently). After another quick stop, being complimented on our good behaviour by one member of the public, we carried on. Some of the children had been asking if they could eat their lunch since about 10:30, and as the rain started, we decided to have lunch on the coach - crumbsa- plenty. We arrived at Hampton Court, no travel sickness, and no problems at 1:30pm.
We had a fun few hours at Hampton Court. We saw the formal gardens, the Royal Tennis Court, Henry VIII's kitchens, and the Chapel Royal with a stunning blue vaulted ceiling. We also toured the living quarters of William III and Henry VIII. Unfortunately the maze cost extra, but souvenirs and some sweets were purchased from the gift shop. We arrived at the hotel at 4:30pm, settled into our rooms, and have all had plenty of food for tea. We set off for the London Eye at 6:30pm
We drove through London, from our hotel, passing Harrods, Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben, before arriving at the London Eye. Some children were a little worried before we went on, but everyone loved the experience, wanting to go round again, and discussing which landmarks they had spotted. All the children have got themselves ready for bed, and are settled down. We haven't had any problems with homesickness, in fact it has been a very problem-free day! Roll on tomorrow! Thursday 23rd June 2011
7:00 a.m. Most of the children are up and about, washed(?) and ready for another day. Although the rooms were a bit warm, and there were a few excited children, they all managed to settle down and get some sleep, with the best rooms being the Year 6 boys, closely followed by the Year 5 boys - not what we might have predicted! We set off on the coach to go to The Tate Modern, after another sight-seeing tour including Tower Bridge, St Paul's Cathedral, and The Gherkin on the way. We got off the coach at London Bridge and walked to the art gallery. We had a few hours in our groups exploring and understanding 'modern art' by the likes of Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, and a video of a man kicking a tin can around New York...
We had our lunch, then headed back across the Thames, this time over the Millennium Bridge - Just like the start of The Apprentice but with 43 children! Another coach ride and we were at The Natural History Museum. We walked in and saw the gigantic dinosaur skeleton in the entrance hall, then explored various areas of the museum.
Our hotel is next door to the museum, so we walked back, and are now resting, and preparing ourselves for tea, then The Lion King. The children's behaviour is still good, and we have still had no real issues to deal with. No illness, no home-sickness, just a little tiredness creeping in now! Keep checking for more updates later! 11:45pm Unfortunately, traffic was bad coming back from the theatre, so we got back to the hotel slightly later than anticipated. On the plus side, The Lion King was amazing and 'wowed' the children and staff. The costumes for all the different animals were incredible and made for a brilliant night.
Lots of tired, but happy children. Friday 24th June 2011 (Mrs Templett's Birthday!) The children got settled and went to sleep really quickly last night, and have slept soundlessly. We are packing up our bags and tidying rooms before breakfast so we can be ready to leave on time. At 9 O'Clock we will leave the hotel and travel to the Houses of Parliment. After spending some time there looking around and arguing with each other in the House of Commons, we will get back on the coach for the journey home. Fingers crossed that the traffic is not too bad on our way back. I think it will be a very quiet sleepy coach! S:CathsDocs/Julia/Website/LondonTripJune2011