Our final day in Tenerife was certainly spectacular and eventful from beginning to end!
Pupils were incredibly excited to return to our partner school, CEIP Maximiliano Gil, for one final day with their Spanish peers. The morning began with a fascinating demonstration of ‘Lucha Canaria’, a traditional style of Canarian wrestling that children learn in school. The experienced PE teacher, Sera, explained the history of the sport and demonstrated some of the key techniques before pupils had the opportunity to volunteer and take part themselves. As you can see from the photos, there was plenty of laughter as pupils enthusiastically threw themselves into the activity, diving across the mats, supporting one another and cheering each other on.
After enjoying a traditional ‘merienda’ — a light snack or mid-morning break typically shared in Spain — kindly provided by the school, pupils headed out to the playground to spend more time playing with their new Spanish friends.
Later in the morning, Spanish pupils had prepared an exciting escape room-style challenge for the group, involving maths and language puzzles in Spanish alongside a range of fun physical sporting challenges in the school’s enormous gym hall. Both pupils and teachers worked incredibly hard to make our visit such a memorable experience, and we are hugely grateful for the warmth, hospitality and care shown throughout the week in making this such an enriching cultural exchange for our children.
When it was finally time for farewells and “adiós”, our pupils proudly presented Leo, the headteacher, with a special book created by Southwold and Hoxton Garden pupils, sharing information about themselves, their interests and their lives in Spanish.
We then returned to Puerto de la Cruz for lunch before setting off to the airport to begin our journey home to London. Although we arrived back late, pupils showed the same teamwork, camaraderie and positivity that they have demonstrated all week long. After a few sleepy naps on the plane, we arrived back at school to huge hugs from parents and family members waiting to welcome everybody home.
This study visit has been a truly wonderful and enriching adventure for our pupils, all of whom have represented their schools brilliantly throughout the week. They have consistently demonstrated the values of kindness, curiosity, resilience, respect and teamwork, and as teachers we could not have been prouder to take such outstanding language ambassadors on this journey.
Tenerife may be behind us for now, but the memories, friendships and experiences created this week will stay with our pupils for a very long time to come. ¡Hasta luego, Tenerife!
