Samworth Church Academy students recently visited Barcelona as part of their Spanish GCSE course. 

Their trip included visits to:

• Tarragona - a typical Spanish town with Roman heritage
• Barcelona city centre, including the old town and cathedral, La Boqueria (famous market) and Las Ramblas harbour area
• Montserrat - a beautiful mountain village and monastery

As well as experiencing Spanish culture, beautiful architecture and stunning sights, students really embraced this learning opportunity the moment they arrived. They were speaking Spanish at the airport, and mingling with other Spanish guests at the hotel. Teachers were very impressed with this phenomenal group of students, who whole-heartedly threw themselves into every experience.

Learning a foreign language such as Spanish broadens horizons both physically and mentally. Did you know, studies have shown that learning a language strengthens the area of the brain which is responsible for memory, speech and sensory perception, and even empathy as it encourages students to think differently. Bilingual people tend to be better at retaining sequences, names and directions. They are also more creative, perceptive and can concentrate for longer. Students who study foreign languages are highly employable and could pursue a career in interpretation, journalism, international business, PR & marketing or teaching. The Samworth Church Academy offers GCSE Spanish or French, which students can continue on to A level, and beyond.

Barcelona 24

At the Samworth Church Academy we are proud to give our students opportunities beyond the standard curriculum. This trip was in part funded by the Opportunity Trust.

The Opportunity Trust was founded by our Sponsors (Sir David Samworth and the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham) to support the wider work of The Samworth Church Academy.  The Opportunity Trust has supported students on various trips abroad, to take part in sports and other activities that they otherwise could not afford to do, including dancing, skiing, golf and martial arts, amongst a whole host of others.

If you are interested in getting some support from the Opportunity Trust fill in an application form (download here) and send it in to the Finance Team at finance@tscacademy.org.uk. Applications must be submitted at least two weeks in advance of a meeting.