England – here we come!
Nach langer Planungszeit war es dann soweit: die Reise der Schülerinnen und Schüler der 9. Klassen des Julius-Echter-Gymnasiums Elsenfeld nach Nordengland zur Partnerschule in Crewe konnte beginnen.
Nachdem wir, nämlich die Gruppe aus dem JEG, nach kurzer Nacht und kurzem Flug in Manchester angekommen waren, fuhren wir mit dem Zug weiter nach Crewe. Dort trafen wir zum ersten Mal live unsere englischen Partner, die in den nächsten Tagen zu wirklich guten Freunden wurden und sich als fabelhafte Gastgeber erwiesen.
Gemeinsam besuchten wir die Städte Nantwich, Manchester, Chester und Liverpool, erfuhren viel über die römische Besiedlung von Großbritannien und die Industrielle Revolution, hatten aber auch viel Zeit um unser Englisch zu praktizieren, fish and chips zu essen, unseren gemeinsamen Hobbys nachzugehen, im Park Pläne für das Wochenende zu schmieden, zu shoppen …
Viel zu schnell verging die Woche und wir mussten den Heimflug antreten: müde, reich an neuen Erfahrungen und Eindrücken und mit dem festen Vorsatz, unsere englischen Partner bald zu uns ans JEG einzuladen.
Röthlein
The best of the North of England in just 6 days
Six lucky students were chosen by the English teacher who is in charge of the school exchange between the Julius-Echter-Grammar School and St. Thomas More Catholic Highschool in Crewe.
After a smooth flight we arrived at Manchester Airport and travelled on to Crew by train, where the students met their English partners for the first time.
In the following days we went on some really fascinating trips to the destinations below. Here are our students’ reports:
Manchester
On the 2nd day we went to the beautiful city of Manchester. We took the train to Manchester train station. After the English teacher guided us to a bus stop, a typical English double-decker bus took us to the Manchester Science and Industry Museum.
We spent a lot of time there looking at the industrial development especially in the area of steam and gas engines, textile production, and computing. For example we were shown how an industrial textile machine works. We were also allowed to try lots of physical experiments in another part of the museum which was lots of fun.
After a short walk we arrived at the beginning of the Manchester ship canal which connects Manchester with Liverpool and the river Mersey. Canals were very important because of the shipping connection of various areas in the Industrial Revolution.
In the afternoon we had some free time and visited a typical English shopping mall with lots of small stores. In our free time we had a little competition: we had to take as many photos of bees as possible. Bees are the landmark of Manchester and since the Industrial Revolution they have been a symbol of a big busy community and the industrial character. You can see them on bins and street lights all over the city.
Manchester is a very beautiful city with a mix of modern architecture and old brick buildings.
We all had a really, really great time in England and got along very well with our exchange partners. The trip to Manchester was also amazing!
We highly recommend taking part in the exchange and want to thank everyone for making it such a great experience.
Nele & Laura
Our trip to Chester
During our exchange we went on a trip to Chester. We travelled by train and arrived in the morning. From the station, we walked past the river to the city centre. The weather was sunny and we all felt excited. Our teachers guided us through the city and told us many interesting facts. First, we walked along the old city wall, which gave us a great view of Chester. Then we visited a large, beautiful church and saw the famous clock tower. We also saw the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre and looked at an old Roman sauna/bath. Later, we went to the oldest horse racing track in the world, that is still active. It was very interesting to see how old and historical the city is. After our walk, the teachers allowed us to have some free time. We walked through the streets and visited some small shops. The buildings were old but very beautiful. We liked the mix of historic and modern life and we also took some photos to remember the trip. Everyone had a lot of fun during the day. We learned a lot of new things about Chester and its history. It was a great experience for our whole group. We really had an amazing time in England and the trip to Chester was great.
Phil & Samuel
Our Day In Liverpool
We spent one week in Crewe, in England, with our exchange students and on Wednesday, the last day before we returned to Germany, we went to Liverpool. We took a train to Liverpool for a day trip. Our first stop was the Central Library in St George’s Quarter. The building was huge and beautifully designed, with modern reading areas and historic architecture. Then we walked through the city centre to the harbor, saw the Beatles’ statue, and took a ferry across the River Mersey to enjoy Liverpool’s skyline. We continued past the Royal Liver Building and visited the World Museum. It had fascinating exhibitions on Ancient Egypt, nature, and space. Each room offered something new to discover. Afterwards, we had some free time in the city centre and went shopping for gifts for our families and host families, mostly snacks and souvenirs from a local grocery store. Unfortunately, every good thing comes to an end, so we had to go back to the train station, after spending a great day in Liverpool. On our ride back we all decided to write a small letter to our exchange students to thank them for the good time we had in England. After a while we arrived in Crewe and reunited with our exchange partners and could spend the rest of the day with our host families.
We really had a really great time 🙂
Emma & Leni
