SOPHIA CHOUDHURY, SPORTS GRADUATE

Enrichment Week 2023 saw 54 of the Year 8 cohort at Queenswood embark on a cultural exploration of Cantabria, with activities ranging from a flamenco workshop, to museum trips and even sightings of elephants and giraffes!

On the first day we discovered the Guggenheim Museum and the wonderful collections housed inside, such as Jeff Koons’ Tulips and Richard Sierra’s La matería del tiempo, with the students diving into their sketchbooks to capture their observations and thoughts. After a long first day, we arrived at our hotel in Santander for dinner before an early night.

The second day involved a walk through Santander to our Spanish classes at Academia Unilang Idiomas, and Flamenco Workshops at Estudio de Danza Armengou. The teachers we had for both sessions were fantastic, fully immersing the students in the language as well as both the history of the city and Spanish culture. 

After a spot of lunch, it was time to jump on board the boat that would take us for a guided tour of the coastline near El Puntal, past Isla de la Torre and the Palacio de la Magdalena. We then had some time to explore the Old Town of Santander before heading back to the hotel on the train.

Day three of our adventures took us to Museo de Altamira, followed by Santillana del Mar and Parque de la Naturaleza de Cabárceno. The museum offered an insight into the caves that had been discovered in 1879, as well as the cave art and tools of the Palaeolithic era. We then jumped back onto the coach, heading for lunch in the medieval village of Santillana del Mar, ahead of setting off for the National Park.

The National Park is home to 120 different species of animals, and a system of cable cars that lets you view the enclosures and animals from above. Despite the rain, we managed to see the bears, gorillas and giraffes, to name a few, and, unsurprisingly, this afternoon was one of the students’ favourites of the trip! After such a jam-packed day, we headed back to the hotel, ready for our return to the UK the following day.

Thank you to the students who made the trip so much fun, and to the staff who accompanied the pupils on their discovery of northern Spain!