Continental trip for Athboy students

Students of Athboy Community School recently enjoyed a taste of the continent with trips to France and Spain. Some 17 students took part in a French exchange with the Lycee Jean Monnet in Crepy-en-Valois in the Oise Department of the Picardy region of northern France. This is the fourth year of the exchange with the Lycee, which is located close to the Autonne Valley area with which the town of Athboy has been twinned since 2000. Students from transition year, fifth and sixth year flew to Paris, along with teachers Anthony Leavy and Tony Magner. The group took in local historical sights including Pierrefonds Castle and the Clariere De L"Armistice, a clearing in the forest near the city of Compiegne where the First World War ended by an armistice signed between the Allies and Germany. Also on the itinerary was a tree-climbing adventure course, the 'Acrobranche" which included some hair-raising obstacles which had to be overcome high in the trees; school-based activities as the students attended classes in the Lycee Jean Monnet; a guided tour of Crepy-en-Valois and a treasure hunt in the town, as well as the Asterix Park theme park just outside the city of Amiens, based on the famous French cartoon character 'Asterix The Gaul". The Irish and French students participated in a poetry evening in the Lycee. The students also visited Paris and its historical sites and monuments, and the Samara Prehistoric Theme Park in the Somme, where they were given a tour of reconstructed Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age villages. The Athboy students participated in workshops like pottery and mosaic-making using the methods of prehistoric Man. Afterwards, 25 students from the French Lycee visited Athboy, staying with host families in the locality. As well as attending classes with their Irish hosts, they enjoyed many cultural trips to places such as Newgrange, Dublin city centre, The Causey Experience and the Croke Park Museum. Meanwhile, a group of 28 students and four teachers from Athboy Community School travelled to Barcelona on a school tour. They visited Montjuic and the Olympic Stadium, now home to Espanyol FC, and the adjacent Botanic Gardens, as well as Parc Guell, built between 1900 and 1914. The park is full of Antoni Gaudi"s architecture with bridges, mosaics, columns and ornate staircases. There was time for shopping on the city"s most famous street, Las Ramblas, and some of the group climbed the huge Colombus monument to get a bird"s eye view of the city centre. The Nou Camp, home of FC Barcelona, and Sagrada Familia Temple, designed by Gaudi, were also visited. There was a stop in the Gothic Quarter of the city and the magnificent 15th century cathedral. The students also visited Placa Del Rey where Christopher Colombus was received back to the city after discovering the Americas. The students also enjoyed a visit to the Port Aventura theme park, owned by Universal Studios. All of the students enjoyed the trip and have recorded their thanks to teachers Mr O"Dowd, Ms Mooney, Ms Carney and Mr Maxwell for organising it.