This October half term, History and Drama students from various years in the school were fortunate enough to embark on a trip to the United States of America. We flew from Manchester airport and arrived in Washington on the 22nd of October, all extremely excited.
The next day we went to all sorts of sites such as Congress and the WW2 memorial with the beautiful Washington monument in the background. We then visited other sites such as the Lincoln Memorial and the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial. We rounded off the day by visiting the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial: we were all fascinated by the rich history of Washington DC. We continued our days at Washington by travelling to Mount Vernon, the ancestral home of George Washington and experiencing fascinating things such as his tomb, the slave quarters and the slave memorial. A particular highlight in Washington for me was when we visited to the National Archives Museum where we saw the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Overall, everyone was very intrigued by the historical significance of Washington, and we were all looking forward to the visit to New York.
After the 3 days in Washington being very focused on the History of the US, we drama students couldn’t wait to experience the bright lights and showmanship of Broadway. We were lucky enough to secure tickets to go watch Disney’s Aladdin and everyone was blown away with the quality of that Broadway production. The Genie was particularly impressive. We also got to go to Ellen’s Stardust Diner in New York where we ate classic American food along with the entertainment of upcoming stars hoping to make it big on Broadway. We had plenty of free time to venture out into Times Square for various shopping opportunities. After a walk across Brooklyn Bridge, the Drama students went to a Drama Q and A with a Broadway director and a Broadway actor, whereas everyone else went for an up-close visit with Lady Liberty on Liberty Island. The groups also split up as many went to the breathtaking New York Yankee Stadium and others went for a shopping trip.
New York was a completely different experience to Washington and I feel privileged to have experienced 2 amazing cities of the USA and the culture that came with them.
Josh Robson
Year 12 History and Drama student
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