Skip to content ↓

Church of England Junior School

German Exchange trip to Euskirchen

Basingstoke win the Festival of Sport trophy after a successful trip to Euskirchen!

Euskirchen Basingstoke Exchange trip

 

A group of 17 excited Year Six children set out to meet their German exchange buddy in the town of Euskirchen for an experience of a life time. On Wednesday night they set of on an overnight journey through four countries to arrive just in time to attend the first lesson at Marienschule School. For the next one and half days they experienced and participated in the lessons their German buddies have every day. They were amazed at the level of English they could speak and began to get involved in the lessons. They experienced familiar lessons in English, Maths, Art Science and Modern languages, but also tried their hand in unknown subjects like politics and Latin.

On Friday afternoon, it was time for the main event; the sports. The competition began with the St Mary's team rapidly learning the sport of capture the flag, a German PE game. After a slow start, they became confident in their tactics and rivalled a more experienced German team. A fiercely competitive sixth game marked a second victory for St Mary’s but ultimately they went down 4-2 before enjoying a few games of dodgeball.

With most of the Saturday free to explore the neighbouring cities, many of the children went exploring German culture with their host families. Some went to the historic and magnificent city of Köln and were able to marvel at the amazing cathedral. Some had a thirst for adrenaline and visited Phantasialand Theme Park, while others discovered idyllic beaches and other cities. After such a fun day, everyone gathered in the centre of Euskirchen to celebrate the sport achievements of each team and it is here they found out that they had won the trophy! After the event, many watched the Germany vs Sweden football match and got to experience the world cup fever in Germany.

Early on Sunday Morning, the children said their last goodbyes and embarked on the journey back to Basingstoke. A boring journey soon turned into a great day as they visited a Belgium chocolate shop to buy souvenirs for everyone at home. After that, they stopped in the city of Oostende, Belgium and visited the local beach. They enjoyed eating ice cream and playing ball games while dipping their feet in the sea! Tired, but in great spirts, they arrived in Basingstoke at 10:30pm Sunday night.

The children had a great time learning about other cultures, building relationships with other children and discovering interesting things about themselves. It was a great trip and the children have great memories to keep with them forever. To see these memories, head over to the photo gallery in ‘Our Learning’.