Trip to Cornwall for International High School Programme students – King’s Oxford
23 Aug 2023
Overnight trip to Cornwall for International High School Programme students
Local Content Producer at Kings Oxford Cordelia Cross reports back on an overnight trip with a group of IHSP students to Cornwall, a county in the UK’s far south west which is famous for it’s beautiful beaches and surf!
Simon and myself recently took a group of seven International High School Programme students down to Cornwall. We set off bright an early in the morning and headed by minibus for Newquay! After a long drive with several stops for snacks and lunch, we arrived in the picturesque town.
Our first stop was heading straight to the beach! We went the beautiful Fistral Beach located on the North coast of Cornwall about a half a miles walk from the town centre. Being blessed with the sunshine the students made the most of the fabulous weather by heading straight to the water for a swim. We spent the afternoon playing frisbee and building sandcastles – a very wholesome, relaxed afternoon!
After building up an appetite we headed to Pizza Express in Newquay for a nice group dinner opting to order a variety of pizza’s, all digging in trying each one –making dinner somewhat chaotic but highly enjoyable! We were then picked up by our wonderful minibus driver and dropped off at the YHA campsite in the fantastic Eden Project.
Once checked in and greeted by the camp leaders, we headed over to our American-style airstreams that we were to be staying in for the night. This went down a treat and the novelty certainly wasn’t lost on our students. Once everyone had gotten settled in their allocated airstreams, we assembled our mini firepits and gathered round the campfire chatting and telling jokes whilst tucking into some delicious, toasted marshmallows. It was a wholesome evening spent laughing and reminiscing over experiences at Kings Oxford over the past few months. After several hours of chit chat everyone was shattered from the long journey and hot weather, we all headed off to bed.
The following morning the students were woken at 8.30am, it was a beautiful sunny day and despite a long and busy day before we we’re all feeling well rested and excited for the day ahead. We sat down for a continental buffet breakfast, then gathered all our belongings and checked out. From here we took a short 15-minute walk downhill towards the Eden Project.
Once inside we explored the beautiful grounds situated in the midst of a clay quarry. Large cliffs and unusual dramatic surrounding landscape made its location certainly unusual and spectacular. We spent time exploring both their tropical biome and rainforest biome which habit over 1000 different species of plants, originating from all over the world including SE Asia, West Africa and tropical South America. Students enjoyed learning about the origins of certain plants and species understanding in more depth how they help protect the eco system. We learnt about the effects of deforestation on rainforests and the environmental impact this has on our planet.
After exploring the site, we settled down for a nutritious, organic lunch freshly prepared by the Eden Project staff using produce from their allotments. After this, students enjoyed an ice cream in the sun before embarking on a fairly long walk back up the hill to be collected and driven back to Oxford.
All in all, the trip was a tremendous success and enjoyed hugely by both students and staff. Blessed with fantastic weather, excellent food, surrounded by the outstanding natural beauty of the Cornish countryside – fingers crossed we’ll be back again before too long!