Upper Sixth Pupils Travel to Salamanca to immerse in the Spanish Culture

8 March 2023 - Academic

“Over Long Leave, a group of UVI pupils who are studying Spanish travelled to Salamanca, a university town in north-western Spain, for what was a hugely enriching and enjoyable trip. The idea of the excursion was to be fully immersed in both Spanish language and culture, and we gained so much of this through staying with host families who fed us traditional Spanish dishes, showed us Spanish TV and, most importantly, spoke nothing but very fast Spanish to us. Each morning we had lessons with a local teacher, covering topics in our A level syllabus as well as different themes, but with a focus on conversation.” – Bella

The Spanish Department inaugurated this academic year with one clear goal, to cast aside the shadows of the pandemic and reinstate a joyful and creditable language immersion trip for our hispanists in the Sixth Form.

Electing Salamanca as our chosen destination was a very straightforward task. It is a vibrant city, welcoming, understated yet beautiful, safe and well kept, attributes that together with the prestige of its long-standing university, one of the oldest in Europe, make Salamanca the ideal place to learn Spanish, whilst soaking up in every turn, a charming, rich and illuminating culture.

Language immersion is unquestionably the most effective way to enhance comprehension and communicative skills in any given tongue. Our pupils benefited greatly by being hosted by caring and dedicated local families that work for Lola Languages, our language school provider. The programme for each day was a perfect blend of academic lessons and cultural visits. The climb to the gothic towers of the cathedral and the breathtaking views of Salamanca, the scrumptious tapas tour or the thrills of the flamenco workshop, are only some of the highlights enjoyed by all. But perhaps, for Mrs Woods and myself, enamoured as we are by our subject, the most rewarding and memorable aspect of the trip was to find our pupils so carefree and enthralled by a city that welcome them with open arms and gifted them so many treasurable memories.

“After returning back home for lunch, we took part in various activities across the five days we were there. These included a guided tour of the city, trips to museums, a tapas tour and, of course, a flamenco lesson which I think we all agreed was the highlight of the trip. This was a truly amazing trip which allowed us to improve our understanding of Spanish as well as showing us a varied TAPAStry of Spanish traditions and culture but also opened our eyes to what is a beautiful, historic and impressive city.” – Phoebe

Preparations are already well on their way for our next trip to Salamanca, scheduled for October 2023. Everyone in the Spanish Department is truly delighted to have such enriching and fulfilling extra-curricular offering now established in Wycombe Abbey.

Sr Fuentes Olea
Head of Spanish