Für alle achten Klassen war dies ihre erste Klassenfahrt am Stein.

Anfang Februar 2023 ging es für alle achten Klassen des Steins in zwei Gruppen auf große Reise. Pandemiebedingt mussten für die Jahrgangsstufe 8 zuvor alle Fahrten ausfallen, so dass die Vorfreude nun auf allen Seiten umso größer war. Vom 31.01. bis 03.02.2023 machten sich die Klassen 8a und 8b gemeinsam mit ihren KlassenlehrerInnen Frau Steffen-Munsberg und Herrn Steenhuis sowie Frau Schubert auf den Weg; vom 06.02. bis 10.02.2023 folgten die Klassen 8c und 8d mit ihren KlassenlehrerInnen Frau Kettlack und Herrn Lange begleitet von Herrn Gulan. Für beide Gruppen ging es in den Westen von England in die Gegend von Bath und Bristol, die auf jeden Fall eine Reise wert ist.

Schon die Fahrt nach England war ein Erlebnis. Nach der ersten Hälfte der Busfahrt durch die Nieder­lande, Belgien und Frankreich mussten alle Schülerinnen und Schüler einzeln die Passkontrolle durch­laufen, bevor der Bus auf die Fähre fahren konnte. Die Aufregung stieg, als die weißen Klippen von Dover in Sicht kamen und der Bus schließlich im Linksverkehr auf englischen Boden fahren konnte, was sich am Anfang wirklich komisch anfühlte. Nach insgesamt 12 Stunden Fahrt kamen alle müde in Warmley, Bristol an, wo die Schülerinnen und Schüler von ihren Gastfamilien abgeholt wurden.

Am nächsten Tag ging es in Kleves Partnerstadt Worcester, wo bei einem Besuch der King’s School der Deutschunterricht besucht wurde. Hier konnten die deutschen Schülerinnen und Schüler die englischen Partner bei der Prüfungsvorbereitung in deutscher Konversation unterstützen. Im Anschluss stand ein Besuch des Bürgermeisters von Worcester auf dem Programm, der immer wieder gerne Gruppen aus Kleve willkommen heißt und ihnen das Rathaus zeigt. Alle hatten außerdem Gelegenheit, sich die Stadt und die Kathedrale anzusehen. Der kommende Tag führte die Gruppen nach Cardiff, in die Hauptstadt von Wales. Die Führung durch die topmodernen Räumlichkeiten des BBC Cardiff war beeindruckend und hat allen viel Spaß gemacht. In Cardiff blieb außerdem Zeit, sich die Stadt und Cardiff Castle mit seiner langen Geschichte anzusehen. Interessant war auch, dass alle Schilder zweisprachig auf Englisch und Walisisch sind, und man in Cardiff Menschen trifft, die noch Walisisch sprechen können. Am letzten Tag stand der Besuch der römischen Stadt Bath auf dem Programm. Das Highlight in Bath war sicherlich der Besuch der alten römischen Bäder, wo man mit Audioguides viel über die Römer in Bath erfahren konnte. Die anschließende Stadtführung führte an weiteren historischen Gebäuden der Stadt und am Fluss Avon vorbei. Am Abend dieses Tages stand schon die Heimreise an, so dass beide Gruppen nach einer Nachtfahrt am Freitagmorgen wieder in Kleve ankamen.

Die Reise war interessant und hat viel Spaß gemacht. Ganz nebenbei konnten die Schülerinnen und Schüler ihr Englisch verbessern und sich bei der ersten gemeinsamen Klassenfahrt auch nochmal neu kennenlernen.

 

Und hier ein paar persönliche Eindrücke:

Our Travel Diary (Marie, Marina, Iman)

Monday, 06.02.2023

Today we travelled to England. We had to wake up at 5 am and started our trip at 5:45 am. Everybody was still tired, but after some time our mood got better. That was until we went to the ferry. On the ferry we all felt very sick, but when we went outside, it got better immediately. We took another break in the very pretty city of Windsor. It had a big castle, which we sadly didn`t visit. We went to a skin-care shop and to a Starbucks. In the last two hours of our trip, we played some games with our class. After some time, we met our host-family. They were very nice and we ate spaghetti. Our room wasn`t too big, but it was definitely big enough. We were very tired and slept very well.

Tuesday, 07.02.2023

Today we went to Worcester. First, we visited a private school called “King’s School”. We had a tour through some parts of the school. On the tour we learned a lot of things about the school and its history. A bit later we met some students who were a bit older than us. They were learning German. Their German was pretty good and they had prepared questions for us. Then we had to read English tongue-twisters and they had to read German tongue-twisters. Afterwards we talked to another student and all of them were very nice, but after some time we had to leave. Then we had some free time and went to Starbucks again. We also went to some clothes stores. We also met the mayor and he showed us the city hall. After we had come back home, we went to a supermarket with our host-mother Dorith and she bought some pizza for dinner. We ate and went to our room to get some rest.

Wednesday, 08.02.2023

On our second full day in England, we went to the capital of Wales, which is Cardiff. The coach ride took about two hours. When we arrived, we separated into three groups. Our group went to the BBC first. We were really surprised, because they checked us and our backpacks just as if they checked us at an airport. Then we had a guided tour through the BBC. We saw a lot of studios like radio or news and weather studios.  At the end of our tour, we could film our own news show. It was very interesting, but the building was a bit scary, because you could look up to the fourth floor and the railing was made from glass. Afterwards we had some free time and went to the city centre of Cardiff. It was very big and we went to many different stores. Then we went to Cardiff Castle. It was very big, old, and pretty. There were many big rooms with chandeliers. My highlight (Marie) was the library. After some hours we went back home. Our host-mother cooked rice, curry and crumble. At the same evening we found out that our host family were Germans. All of us were very surprised.

Thursday, 09.02.2023

Today we went to Bath. The coach ride took about one hour. When we arrived, we had free time in the city for another hour. We went to a big candy store. After that we had a tour through Bath. Our tour guide’s name was Ingrid and she was very nice. An example for the places we went to with her is the Bath Abbey. After the tour we went to the Roman Baths. We got a phone which told us information about the baths. It was just like a guide. After that we had free time again and went to the cathedral, which was really pretty and has an interesting history. We also ate our lunch.  Sadly, we already had to go back to Germany. The ride was very boring and most of us slept. But we felt much better on the ferry than before. We arrived at the Tichelpark cinema around 5am, and our parents picked us up. It was a pleasant experience and it was also very much fun. Our host family was very nice and all of us are very thankful for the great time with them and our class.