What fab weather, great hospitality  and wonderful sport. Some year 6s have had the opportunity to visit our twin town in Germany. We met at Basingstoke leisure park at 8.30pm on Wednesday and boarded our luxury coach. After a cheery, yet tearful goodbye we embarked on our long journey. We arrived in Dover at midnight and boarded our ferry. The crossing took just over an hour which we spent slurping delicious hot chocolate. On arrival in Calais, the coach was plunged into darkness. We got comfortable, with blankets and pillows at the ready,  and attempted to get some sleep.

An early start was had by all as the schools here all start at 7.30am. Blurry eyed we made our way to school and took part in German lessons. School closed at 11.30 due to the heat, 37 degrees-no exaggeration. During the afternoon we took part in sports events held in the school's sports hall, we took part in various games and used different equipment. Our competitive game 'capture the flag' was great fun and we held on to a 1 all draw until the end when the German team scooped an extra point. Hot and rather bothered we returned back to our German host families for an evening full of entertainment.

Following a well deserved lie in we met at school at 9.30am before boarding the coach to an adventure park. After a few wrong turns and a scenic view of Germany, we eventually arrived and located a suitable base and then enjoyed all the activities available. Activities included pedal go-carts, a zip wire, indoor adventure play area, trampolines and a death slide (which Mrs Ruddick-Smith and Mrs Bowditch thoroughly enjoyed). Due to the heat we were all drawn to the fountains and had great fun splashing around and getting each other soaked. Some of us particularly enjoyed the 'hamster wheel' while others enjoyed practising their German by interacting with the members of staff at the park. At 1.00pm we made our way back to the air conditioned coach and travelled back to school. After a shorter and more direct route home we were greeted by our host parents in time for the German football match. During the match the weather finally broke and thunder and lightning lit up the sky.