The Alleynian 712 2024

Baden-Württemberg is particularly well known for its car- rich history, with Porsche factories also heavily prevalent in Stuttgart. Along with the positives of Germany, we also got to experience the infamous delays of the Deutsche Bahn on our travels to and from Tübingen. In the following days, the group split. The Sixth Formers went to work experience placements, either at the hospi- tal or the dentist, in order to gain a deeper understanding and insight into the German working culture and its typical day. The other boys had different plans, which included visiting the museums in and around Tübingen. At the Castle Museum an immersive workshop was on offer, and at the Ritter Sport Chocolate Factory, there was an opportunity to make some chocolate, which went down well with the boys. On the Saturday, we did whatever our exchange partners had organized. Activities included a visit to the shop- ping centre, a visit to another town, a trip to watch local basketball games in the arena, and even classical dance lessons. Overall, all boys thoroughly enjoyed the return trip to Tübingen. We are all still in contact with our exchange partners and hope to be able to see them again one day. Plenty of German was learnt and spoken and the trip was a fantastic opportunity for students who had never been to Germany to properly experience German culture, including, of course, the daily pretzel from the bakery. ◉ FRENCH TRIP – MONTPELLIER GORDON ZONG (YEAR 10) • EASTER HOLIDAY 2024 Escaping the rainy weather of London in the last week of the Easter holidays, a group of Year 10, 11 and 12 stu- dents flew to the sunny Mediterranean city of Montpellier in the south of France, accompanied by Mrs Angel, Mr Read, Ms Juyol and Mr Brown. Under the scorching hot sun, we enjoyed the first morning with our local French host families and then spent the afternoon under the roof of the famous Bowling de Montpellier, which made a smashing start to the trip. The next day we began an exciting week of French study at the fabulous LSF Montpellier French Language School,

where we spent the morning perfecting the language with fun activities and even some French songs. After a satisfying lunch in a local boulangerie , we departed on our first excursion of the trip with the star of the week – Jeff the tour guide. We went on a trek around the famous local landmarks of la Place de la Comédie, la Cathédrale Saint-Pierre, and through the gates of l’Arc de Triomphe Montpellier, spending the rest of the afternoon in a crack- ing game of the famous French classic, pétanque . The following afternoon, we visited another famous French landmark, le Pont du Gard, where many boys demonstrated their surprising skill at stone-skipping. The final afternoon was filled with surprises at the famous cas- tle and prison of Aigues-Mortes, and the spectacular salt fields, a trip very generously supported by the Friends of Dulwich College. Last but most certainly not least, the trip came to an end on the sandy beaches of Montpellier, with a hearty game of American football. At the end of the day, as the golden sun sank below the horizon, we dragged our sandy feet back home without a care in the world. ◉

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