Trip to Northern Ireland
History teacher Andrew Young; Mathematics teacher Jennifer Wirth; English language teacher Julia Hammett and
Head of Activities Kevin Hennessy accompanied 23 IB students on a political and cultural trip to Northern
Ireland. The group based themselves in Belfast and explored the North Antrim coastline and Derry.
Luisa Opice wrote, “Northern Ireland always fascinated me, because of its history. In my opinion, it's amazing
how far people go for their beliefs and religion. The murals are a visible proof of that. People there are very
aware of their past and still cultivates that, you can see by the way they talk about the conflicts and “Protestants
v Catholics”. Also, culturally they drink a lot of Guinness and have their own typical dishes.
My impressions of Northern Ireland have changed a lot. Before I went there I thought the place would be much darker
and violent, because of its history. However I impressed myself. I actually found the landscapes outstanding and
felt safe in the cities. I really liked Belfast”.
Wenkun He wrote, “The strength of the trip is the Titanic Museum which shows what originally Titanic building
processing is like. The whole museum introduced all the details of the building of the ship, from the background
to after sinking”.
Beatriz Pires Oliveira Dias Foz wrote,“I found interesting learning more about the endless “war” between the
Protestants and Catholics and the unfair housing issue in Legend Derry. The Protestants had all the rights
and the Catholics almost none. Moreover, knowing more about the bloody Sunday and being able to be right there
where the massacre occurred was unique”.
Nefeli Vlahopulos wrote,“It's astonishing to think that in this day and age the prejudice still exists. When
we went around Belfast I found that there was a tense atmosphere. Sometimes I found that I didn't know what words
to use in case I was going to hurt somebody”.
Kira Bocharnikova wrote, “I found particularly appealing the fact that people expressed their political protests
through art. In this sense, it might be interesting to explore this connection between art and society in my Visual
Arts lessons. The strongest thing about the trip is that it was very well organised. Of course, the both cultural
and political aspects were presented in an excellent way: it was both engaging and academically beneficial. The
third best thing was the food – simply delicious”.
As part of the IB Diploma students are required to take part in a certain number of CAS activities - Creative, Action
and Service. This cultural trip would have satisfied a significant part of the CAS requirements for each student.
November
