View Spring '13 Issue 23
Bordeaux Study Trip
On 10 February four ‘A’ level French students undertook the long journey from Bristol to Bordeaux via Toulouse to spend a week living with a French family and immerse themselves in French life culture and language.
B arce l ona Hockey Tour
The First XI hockey team escaped the grey skies of Bristol at halfterm, flying to Barcelona for a four-day, three-match hockey tour. In their first two matches BGS took an early lead before being overwhelmed by their stronger and more experienced Spanish opponents, losing 1–6 to Real Club de Polo and 1–7 to the Castelldefels U18 side. Well done to tour captain Michael and Jonah who opened the scoring in the first and second matches respectively, and to goalkeeper Ben who was outstanding in the second game. With no game on the third day, the tour party enjoyed a tour of the Camp Nou, the home ground of FC Barcelona, including a look at the (very large) trophy cabinet. In the afternoon the boys went to explore the city. Some enjoyed some typical Spanish Tapas (while others explored the menu of a typical Spanish McDonalds!) and many visited the famous La Rambla and Gaudi’s Cathedral. In the evening the boys went to a La Liga game, played by the other football team of Barcelona, Espanol. The last day of the tour brought the final match and a determination to win against opponents Iluro U18. After
conceding a soft early goal, the boys stepped up a gear and dominated the remainder of the first half with goals from Redd and Greg In the second half, the boys reaped the reward of their determination not to give up a winning position with Alec scoring once and Brook twice. The final scoreline of 5–1 was just reward for the boys’ hard work on the pitch throughout the tour, and showed how much they had learnt and improved from the experience of playing against Spanish opposition. Well done to the player of the tour Redd to Ciaran the rock of the BGS defence, and Jack who was outstanding in midfield – especially considering he was one of the younger members of the tour.
Once they were settled with their host families, the students faced the challenge of negotiating the Bordeaux streets to find the Alliance Française. Once there, under the guidance of teacher Francoise, the group enjoyed lessons including a class in advanced French cooking. They also had lunch at Flunch (an invitingly-named fast-food experience) and toured the beautiful vineyards of St Émillion. In what time there was between these exciting excursions, the students could be found enjoying the coffee and crêpes of the local Bordeaux cafés. At the end of the week the genuine sadness at departing was tempered by the warm invitations from host families to return soon, something our students would be pleased to do after such an enjoyable and educational trip.
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