With most pupils set to enjoy two days off, while the School conducts its annual entrance test, inspiration can be drawn from the two-day Flourish Festival that saw 940 boys and 53 staff head out from Queen’s Road on 25 separate trips, taking full advantage of QE’s position within easy reach of both beautiful countryside and the world-famous cultural attractions of London.
The festival included a wide variety of trips for all of Years 7–10 and Year 12 organised through QE’s Flourish enrichment programme as an end-of-year treat.
Assistant Head (Pupil Involvement) Crispin Bonham-Carter, who leads Flourish, said: “It was a major logistical exercise: we sent the staff and boys to 25 separate locations and activities, including three museums, one airfield, one forest, three theatres, one ancient ruin, two country hikes, one set of botanical gardens, one university, one library, one girls’ school, and one zoo.
“We certainly celebrate academic achievement here, but, as this festival exemplifies, the QE experience is about so much more than that. Over two summer days, we gave boys the chance to pursue their interests, to learn something new, or, in some cases, to stretch themselves with some physical exercise in the great outdoors.
“It was a very diverse programme, but, we hope, with this in common – that all had the opportunity to relax with friends and enjoy themselves.”
The major trips involved in the festival were:
- Year 7
Sponsored walk in the Dollis Valley, Barnet
Whipsnade Zoo - Year 8
Kew Gardens
Roman St Albans (Verulamium) - Year 9
Imperial War Museum Duxford, Cambridgeshire
Science Museum - Year 10
Globe Theatre
Heartwood Forest, St Albans
Design Museum
British Library - Year 12
Theatre trips (Garrick Theatre and Young Vic)
Chilterns Hike (Cookham to Marlow loop)
Asked what makes a great School trip, Mr Bonham-Carter said: “It’s all about the people. All of the brilliant staff and all the boys out of School together, doing something joyfully different.
“It’s the multitude of shared moments: the stunning views, the brilliant performances, the M25, sudden downpours, awe-inspiring exhibits, ice-creams, tube delays – everything – the whole School – living and learning together.”
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