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Wirral. CH63 3AQ
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Wirral Grammar Schools' Paris Tour 2010

Posted on: 17.02.2010

2010 Wirral Grammar Schools’ Paris Tour

On the 4^th February a selection of Wirral Grammar Schools’ finest linguists  embarked on what was to become an eventful and at all times enjoyable séjour in France’s most populous, and perhaps most beautiful, city.

Despite Mr Hughes’ predictions to the contrary, all arrived at Liverpool Lime Street promptly and the trip began in earnest as we boarded the train to London Euston, arriving around 2 hours later.  Following a short walk to the newly-refurbished St. Pancras, and a demonstration of Mr Denby’s suitcase carrying prowess, the group boarded the Eurostar destined for Paris, comically oversized suitcases in tow.  This second train journey passed particularly quickly – the Eurostar reaches speeds of up to 186 miles per hour – and, on arrival, we headed for our hotel via the ruthlessly efficient Parisian metro (surprisingly there were no strikes during our visit). Thereafter, rested and unpacked, we spent the evening on a Bateaux Mouche on the River Seine, which flows through the heart of Paris, and took in the city’s waterside sights by moonlight, the only other light coming from the sparkle of the Eiffel Tower’s illuminations.

The following day we visited a number of Paris’ most renowned sights, including the Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe and the quintessential Parisian landmark: the Eiffel Tower.  Nevertheless, the day retained some educational merit in that, aside from our general use of French, we attended a conference, held entirely in the native language, which specifically related to our A-level studies.  In fact, not content with mere attendance, we ultimately won the prize for the best environmentally-friendly suggestion in a scholastic context; we proposed, entirely in French, for a reduction in our schools’ consumption of paper through an increased usage of internet based resources – a concept which is already evident in the use of Wirral Grammar Parentmail.

Our third day in Paris was again spent largely in the Palais de Congrès, an impressive 3273 seat venue which had also hosted the previous day’s conference, albeit in a smaller room.  On that day, however, the event took place in the full splendour of the Grand Amphithéâtre and involved numerous speakers of international renown; Vince Cable, Shami Chakrabarti and BBC newsreader Dermot Murnaghan to name but a few.   Each speaker presented on a topic related to ‘Our Future in Europe’ and the day was ended with a ‘Question Time’ style debate, to which members of our group contributed in spite of the anxiety induced by the sight of over a thousand onlooking eyes.  We spent our third evening in Paris dining in one of the city’s many restaurants, as we did each night, before returning to our hotel thoroughly worn out but anxious to continue our visit the subsequent day.

Our penultimate day in Paris was equally enriching regardless of its less pedagogic tone; we spent the day in an assortment of museums, notably the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay, and the lesser-known but similarly fascinating Pere Lachaise cemetery.  Both museums were filled with an almost laughable quantity of priceless art – although the Mona Lisa, Venus di Milo and Monet’s ‘Water Lillies’ were perhaps the principal attractions – whilst the cemetery allowed us to pay homage to Oscar Wilde and the Edith Piaf of ‘Je ne regrette rien’ fame.

On our fifth and final day in France’s capital we had time only to catch a solemn metro to Gare du Nord, from where we were to board the Eurostar for our return to England.  Appropriately, a slight drizzle filled the skies as we left Paris and returned to Liverpool via Smethwick.  Nonetheless, our last train journey provided a perfect illustration of the trip’s success; on our outward trip, boys and girls had voluntarily divided into two rigidly separated groups, on our return there was a free intermingling of boys, girls and – dare I suggest – teachers.

On behalf of all the trip’s attendees, I would like to extend the most sincere of thanks to Mr Hughes, Mrs Craze and Mr Denby for allowing us the possibility of such an excellent visit.  It will no doubt remain one of the highlights of our school careers and I commend it to anyone who may be fortunate enough to take part next year.

Jan Greenshaw L63