Last week Barr Beacon hosted 19 teachers and 10 students from around Europe for the next phase of our ‘Written in Stone’ project.  The 10 students (5 from Italy and 5 from Spain) were joined by teachers from all European countries involved in the project to meet and discuss future tasks and visits in the coming year.  Barr Beacon pupils hosted a pupil each in their home, immersing them in the English culture, helping them to develop their English language.

Our pupils prepared for the hosting by completing tasks (including building castles out of a range of materials) to meet the objectives set out in the history-based project, for when our partners arrived.  Throughout the week, all pupils and teachers were involved in a range of excursions, visiting Dudley and Warwick Castle and learning all about our more local history with a day at the Black Country Museum.  

It was fantastic to see all pupils get along and enjoying the hosting experience, which culminated in a final meal which was attended by all parents, teachers and pupils involved in the project.

Our next journey in the project will involve another 5 pupils travelling to the east coast of Italy in March 2020, to experience the regional history of castles and to learn about ghost stories and the legend that surrounds them.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all parents for their amazing time, effort and hospitality in making the visit a real success.

15 pupils left school in the early hours of Wednesday morning to start their Italian adventure!

Day 1: We were taken to Naples City, where we had an overground tour of the famous city sites and saw three of the 40 churches in the city. We also had an underground tour of the ancient tunnels and chambers which were used by the Greeks and Romans. We ate fresh Napoli pizza, which was the ideal first meal in Italy. We rounded off the day with a refreshing swim in our hotel pool.

Day 2: What a jam-packed day! We started by climbing Mount Vesuvius. At the crater of the volcano we learnt about past eruptions and how the volcano is monitored. In the afternoon, we visited Pompeii which had been completely covered by an eruption from Mount Vesuvius back in AD79. We were in awe of the well-preserved buildings and were able to see the world’s oldest surviving ‘beware of the dog’ sign. On the evening we went to a Gelateria where we produced and tasted real Italian gelato.

Day 3: Firstly, we visited a buffalo mozzarella farm where we were able to pet the buffaloes and taste mozzarella, cheese and chocolate made with buffalo milk. The pupils really enjoyed petting the buffaloes, who were very friendly and calm.  We then spent the afternoon exploring Ancient Greek ruins and underground natural caves. For our final meal in Italy, we made our own pizzas which were delicious.

Miss O’Connor and Mr Nunn would like to congratulate pupils for their excellent behaviour and participation on the trip. Well done!