At the end of term, the Classics department took 23 Year 10-12 students to Rome.

After an early start on Thursday morning (the less said about that the better!), we arrived at Rome Fiumicino airport and immediately hopped on our coach to Ostia Antica, a once bustling port city. Rome’s version of Pompeii, students were fortunate enough to have some beautiful sunny weather as they explored this ancient site. We were able to climb to the second floor of an ínsula (block of flats), see mosaics of Triton and his wonderful sea creatures, and eat our lunch in the theatre. It was then back to our 4-star hotel in Rome to relax before our first three course Italian dinner, including the first of many cacio e pepe dishes to come.

On the following day, we hit the major Roman sites: the Palatine Hill, the Roman Forum and the Colosseum. Before lunch, we had followed in the footsteps of Cicero, Augustus and gladiators who had fought for the entertainment of the masses. We were lucky enough to have another delicious meal and a chance to rest our feet before continuing to the monumental Baths of Caracalla and the Circus Maximus for which the sun had reappeared. After successfully navigating the metro, we found ourselves walking past the Spanish Steps on our way to dinner and treating ourselves to the chaos of the Trevi Fountain on the way back to the hotel. 

The final full day saw the Year 11 Classical Civilisation students revising some of the key sites from the myth and religion course: the Pantheon and Ara Pacis. Amidst the Classics, we were able to squeeze in a quick gelato break! Students made the most of free time to explore the area around the Spanish Steps, treating themselves to heart-shaped pizzas (a “palate cleanser” from all the pasta in Ms Melvin’s words) and souvenirs. In the afternoon, we visited the Palazzo Massimo museum to see some of the most impressive sculpture and fresco paintings from the Roman world. On our last night, we enjoyed one final cacio e pepe.

Although we were delayed at the airport for our flight home, we all managed to entertain ourselves. The Year 11 and 12s won our Rome quiz and one group won prizes for completing Rome bingo.

The trip was a wonderful way to start the Easter holidays and a great opportunity for Ms Melvin to say goodbye to Channing. Thank you to Mrs Elliot for coming with us and making the trip such a success and, of course, to all the students for being so much fun - even if their feet were a little worn out by the end!