On Monday 27th June 66 Year 12 students took a trip to Cambridge for their enrichment day. Madelene Howard has written up her experience of the day:

Last Monday the whole of Year 12 were invited to attend an enrichment opportunity of a day out in Cambridge; one which included punting experiences, a guided tour of the city and a period of time to explore the area ourselves. 

After travelling to Cambridge, we swapped in alternating groups to be taken down the ‘backs’ - the river that runs parallel to expanses of reclaimed land and along the actual backs of prestigious colleges, including those of Magdalene, St Johns, Clare and Trinity. This was accompanied by facts and information about each and it was interesting to learn about the architecture, the nature of local tourism and the inclusive culture of each collegiate member which hosted famous alumni such as Sir David Attenborough and Stephen Hawking. After our punter kindly hid us under the string of ornate bridges, and those temporarily constructed for restoration works that weren’t so aesthetic, we made our way back to the banks to continue the day - a journey that was safe to say made more interesting by some peers having a go at punting themselves and leading to to some clever rotations and ramming into the undergrowth!

Once we were safely out of the punts we were greeted by tour guides who proceeded to take us around the city, which although I assumed would feature the regular sites that many of us may have seen in Cambridge before, actually included various sites and facts that as a regular visitor many are completely oblivious to, allowing an interesting tourist’s perspective. These sites included old pubs, ghost stories, historic graffiti, ornate clocks and archived photos of witty student endeavours including that of the ‘night climbers’ and an infamous car that was mechanically placed on top of the senate building during the night.

After returning from the tour we were then allowed to spend the last couple of hours exploring in smaller groups ourselves, a flexible addition which was a nice ending to the day. Some looked around the plethora of shops the city has on offer, whilst my friends and I opted for a walk down some picturesque alleyways and enjoyed lunch in a quaint small cafe! Later we congregated around the market; the oldest continually running one in England which is still on top of old street cobbles and offers a colourful and bustling array of food and a range of sellers and buskers.

I think everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and it was hugely rewarding to be able to take a trip which was leisurely paced and coupled with enjoyable activities, especially after the period of completion exams, so on behalf of everyone who attended thank you to those who organised it!