History and Politics Trip to America

 by Isabella Frobisher

At the end of March 2022, a group of Year 10, 12 and 13 pupils alongside Mr Lemieux, Mr Wiggins, Mrs Clay and Mr Millford went on the school’s first overseas trip since COVID-19. Whilst visiting Boston, New York and Washington D.C. for an amazing History and Politics trip, we got to see a variety of iconic sites from the Statue of Liberty and Boston Common to the White House.

The trip kicked off bright and early with a coach journey to Heathrow Airport, where  a 3-hour wait to check-in that nearly caused us to miss our flight made some in the group a little apprehensive... With 30 starving pupils who had missed the opportunity to get breakfast duty-free, we were finally on our way to Boston. One plane journey, a bunch of movies, a stroll around Boston Common and thankfully some food later, we were all ready for a good night's sleep at our hostel.

After a classic cream cheese bagel for breakfast, we had a long first day following the Freedom Trail around Boston, hearing stories from the American Revolution, seeing the USS Constitution (a rival for HMS Victory?), and ended on a high with an exclusive tour of the Red Sox Stadium, which was incredible! The following day we got to travel back in time and throw tea into the Boston Harbour as well as sample American tea. Following a quick subway across the Charles River, we arrived at Harvard and got to have a look around the University and saw the famous Harvard bookshop. We then headed back to the coach to settle in for the 5-hour drive to New York, ending up with a late-night Burger King there.

The first day in New York, organised by Mrs Clay, was action-packed and started with a walk to the boat that took us to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, with a rendition of the YMCA at the top. Then the mood changed with a visit to the extremely moving 9/11 museum, where we learned more about the political culture of the US and got to hear a range of personal stories which were very powerful. One visually amazing walk through Times Square later, we got to see the sunset from the top of the Rockerfeller which made for some great photos. The next day, we rounded off our swift 48 hours in New York with some shopping on Fifth Avenue and a visit to the Tenement Museum, where we got to walk around an apartment to experience the real lives of the people who had lived there - a different and very immersive way of learning about a place’s history. Then, after another 4-hour drive down to Washington, we arrived at our last hotel and headed straight to bed after an all-you-can-eat buffet. 

The pouring rain on our first full day in Washington D.C. didn’t stop us from strolling around the National Mall, getting to see breathtaking monuments like the Lincoln Memorial and the tributes to the soldiers of the 20th Century. The Vietnam War Memorial was especially moving as the name of every US soldier that died in that war was inscribed on it and Vietnam veterans were there to give us real-life insights into the conflict. After a quick stop at Union Station for lunch, we headed to the National Archives and got to see the original US Constitution and Bill of Rights. Then followed a visit to the Hard Rock Café (many hoodies were bought…) and we rounded off the day with a showing of the play ‘Grace’ at the Ford Theatre - the place where Abraham Lincoln was shot. On the second day, we visited Arlington Cemetery, where we saw the graves of people like JFK and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as well as the ceremony for the Unknown Soldier. We then headed off to the Senate where a lone protester advocating for the destruction of the American political system proved to be pretty entertaining! Next was the Spy Museum where we were recruited as spies for the afternoon, trying to put a stop to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

We rounded up the day with the Sixth Formers having a game of American Football outside the Capitol building (with some people showing surprising speed…) and a meal at the iconic Ben’s Chilli Bowl, where Barack Obama ate on his first day as president. After a good night's sleep, a whistle stop tour of the Smithsonian museum was followed by a long journey to Mount Vernon, George Washington’s family home. We walked around his massive gardens and were able to see his grave alongside his wife’s. Feeling cold and tired after a long day, but happy with the memories that we’d made, we headed back to the hotel to pack and then headed over to the airport. After a 7 hour flight, we finally touched down back in the UK. With a final encore of songs on the coach to school, we all said our goodbyes, bringing an end to the marvellous history and politics trip to America.