Independent School A-Level study tour |21 May 2025
Independent School A-Level study tour
Another group of Independent School A2 students had the incredible opportunity to go on the A-Level Study Tour over the holiday and they are back with memories, lessons, and probably a few sore legs from all the walking.
They tell us about the trip in their own words:
“Our journey took us to two amazing cities: Paris and Brussels. From the moment we landed, it was go, go, go — in the best way possible. We cruised the River Seine and visited iconic landmarks like the Sacré-Coeur, Notre Dame, Versailles palace, the Stade de France, the Atomium, Mini Europe, Rex film studios, and of course, Disneyland Paris, where some of us definitely turned into little kids again.
In just a few days, we saw iconic landmarks, experienced new cultures, and learned more than we ever expected — both academically and personally. We visited the Memorial de la Shoah to learn about the Holocaust, a brewery business in Brussels to help the Business studies students and future entrepreneurs, and the Parlamentarium at the European Parliament in Belgium, to open our minds to the world.
But beyond that, there were moments that hit differently — moments that were not on the itinerary, but we learnt to embrace. Like every single time we were late regrouping after shopping — and got told off because somehow everyone thought they were the exception to the meeting time. Or the unspoken rule that bus time = nap time. It did not matter if it was a 10-minute drive or an hour — if we were on the bus, people were asleep.
We also visited the Eiffel Tower and ate amazing food at the Spring Fair held there. We waited in anticipation for a whole hour for its first sparkle of the night. That moment was not just beautiful — it was surreal!
One of those “we’re really here” moments, where everything goes quiet, and it hits you just how far from home you really are — in the best way possible. We laughed a lot, got lost a few times, ate way too many pain au chocolats, and we grew — even if we did not realize it in the moment. We learnt how to navigate unfamiliar cities, how to be responsible for ourselves and each other, and how to stay calm even when things didn’t go as planned — because, spoiler: they did not always. But we adapted, we figured it out, and we did it as a team.
A huge thank you to our teachers — Mrs Morel, Mr D’Souza, and Mrs Balette — who handled our chaos with legendary patience and made the entire trip run smoothly. They were tour guides, photographers, human GPS systems, and sometimes even our parents away from home, and also the reason we made it from place to place without losing anyone or our minds.
We also want to thank the school management, the Board of Directors for their sponsorship, other generous sponsors, our parents, and everyone who supported us — especially with fundraising. We stay reminded of how lucky we were to have this opportunity.
Lastly, if there is one takeaway from the trip, it’s this: learning doesn’t stop at the classroom door. Sometimes, it happens while ordering lunch in a language you barely speak, or when you forget your hostel key and have to ask reception for a replacement using your best French. Sometimes, it’s sitting next to someone you barely talked to before, realising you’ve got more in common than you thought.
So, to everyone reading this — take the opportunities when they come. Go on trips. Sign up for new experiences. Step outside of what you know. Because you never know what moment — or what city — might change you.”
Contributed