From February 25th till March 3rd 19 students attending 7B in the school year 2023/24 together with their head teacher Mag. Dr. Sabine Onz and English teacher Mag. Andrea Spandel went on a language trip to Oxford International School in the UK.

Three students – Lisa-Marie Lechner, Nina Pell and Ana Nedic – gladly share some insights and experiences about their trip.

Family life

Groups of two to four people stayed with different families, which is why we basically had no other choice than to speak English all the time. That way, we learned how to use “everyday English” instead of “school English”. We tried to always have dinner with our families, so we could get to know them better and spend some time together. The people we stayed with were very diverse and open minded. All in all, we had a great time with them. 

School live

Out of the 7 days in Oxford, 3 of them were spent in a school. We were split into two groups, one of them for the “advanced students” and the other for the “quiet kids”. The teachers taught us a lot about the typical slang and the UK itself. We mainly talked during the lessons to improve our English and we also played lots of fun games as well. The lessons were definitely very helpful. School also organized a City Tour (+ paper chases) and a Tour of Christ Church College, setting of various Harry Potter scenes and inspiration for Alice in Wonderland.

Trips/ excursions

Typically for England, it rained on both days of our trips to Bath and London. But we still managed to visit the things we wanted to see. Besides the beautiful small town with nice-looking buildings and little shops, we explored the Roman Baths with audio guides and had plenty of time to investigate every detail we had in front of us at our own speed.

 As the tour finished, we split into groups. One group went into the Jane Austen Museum, where they met an interesting guide, who told them many fascinating things and facts about Mary Shelley and Jane Austen before the tour began and – funny detail -the tour guide was dressed appropriately for the museum. The other group went into a little coffee shop next to the museum. As they figured out that it was not a typical coffee shop, but a coffee-game-shop, where they could play as many games as they wanted and drink coffee and tea and treat themselves to delicious desserts, they didn’t want to leave. 

Our professors managed to organize that we could go to the New Collage Chamber Opera to watch an opera about King Arthur (by Henry Purcell), although that the entrance to the Collages was not easily allowed for strangers like us. After the piece everyone was enthusiastic about how well the college students (who – besides professionals – were part of the cast) had performed the act. 

Our day in London was quite a walking experience. We arrived at Paddington Station at 9 in the morning and took the Tube to the Tower. From there, we walked along the banks of the Thames (past Tower Bridge, the Globe and the Gherkin). We left the riverbanks for St. Paul’s Cathedral and walked along Fleet Street to Covent Garden, where we spent our lunch break. After that, we passed Trafalgar Square, the Horse Guards and Downing Street to have a closer look at The Houses of Parliament with Big Ben and Westminter Abbey. Then we strolled through St.-James Park and had a short rest in front of Buckingham Palace. From Victoria Station, we reached Oxford Street and there we had some time for shopping. Before heading back to Paddington in the evening, we walked through Knightsbridge and stopped at Hyde Park/ Speakers Corner. An hour train ride brought us back to Oxford for our last evening in the city.

The pictures were taken in London / Bath-Roman Baths / Jane-Austen-Museum / Oxford Christ-Church-College (Harry- Potter- Set) + Stairway / University library