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In the Easter holidays, the Classics Department led a trip of 43 students around the ancient sites of Greece. They spent a wonderful 7 days and 6 nights travelling in space and time to bring to life the ancient worlds that they have been studying in the classroom.

Delphi, by Henry, Year 10

The second city we visited on the Greece trip was the glorious hill town of Delphi. And while the classical temples were all amazing and interesting, I cannot overstate the superlative beauty of that view, stretching down the mountains and even to the tip of the Mediterranean. It was a hell of a sight to wake up to. We took a look around the site of Delphi, at all the treasuries made by rich people or city states, all the temples where people from far and wide would come to ask about their future. But the most impressive of all of the wonderful things in the site was the  theatre: we could stand behind the stage and look up at this breath-taking monument and then look ahead and see the stunning views. I don’t know how the actors kept the attention of the audience with that behind them. All in all, Delphi was unquestionably the best place on the trip from a combination of views, the site and the hotel which was lovely.

Olympia, by Elliot, Year 10

Olympia, the home of the Olympics is perhaps the second place you think of when Greece comes to mind, Athens probably taking a close first. And so it was with great excitement that we set off as a school to the site where many great Greeks had battled it out in order to win themselves the olive wreath. Our visit began in the palaestra where we picked up a dog we quickly named Pelops who guided us around the whole site. The ruins there were preserved well enough that it was easy to imagine what the palaestra may have looked like with its distinctive colonnade and wide open space. Next we arrived at Pheidias’ workshop, one of the greatest Greek craftsman ever, whose creations seemed to be everywhere we went. However the main attraction of it all came next in the form of the Temple of Zeus. This towering yet extensively detailed structure left us in awe and really allowed us to see how much the Greek’s worshipped Zeus. Despite the main focus on the Temple of Zeus, the Temple of Hera was almost as impressive and it was here that we began limbering up for the competitions about to take place in the Stadium. Several thrilling events later, including the stade race and a long jump, and we were just about ready to head off, exhausted but impressed nonetheless.

Tolo, by Diya, Year 10

Tolo was an amazing spot for our final couple of nights in Greece. The hotel and rooms were excellent and the staff extremely welcoming. It was so much fun exploring the local area, getting tempted by the ice-cream shops before dinner and admiring the view from the beach. Finally, the quiz, fantastically led by Shayna and Henry, truly rounded off our trip in a very enjoyable way!

Day 1 Athens, by Daljit, Aimee and Anjali

We woke up at the early hour of 6am and headed down to breakfast at 7am. We sat on the roof terrace watching the beautiful sunrise. We soon headed off to the Acropolis; it was a bit of a hike but the views were amazing. After trekking for a bit, we got to the Acropolis and had a nice look around while also taking some pictures. We explored the Acropolis site and had a snack in the amphitheatre. Then we headed to the Areopagus which had some beautiful scenery. The next hour was spent on lunch and we had an authentic Greek salad, finishing up with a well needed ice cream. Our next stop was an ancient cemetery with some lovely tortoises. Our last stop was the Acropolis museum full of interesting artefacts. After we travelled back to the hotel on the Metro and went to coffee island (it was great - nice and cheap!). To finish off the day, we walked back to the hotel, ate our dinner and got our well-deserved rest.

Overall, our first day in Athens was fabulous and an amazing way to start the exciting week to come!