It’s hard not to feel inspired as you enter the stunning Plaza Mayor in the historic centre of Salamanca; the sheer size of one of the largest public squares in Spain. The elegant architecture, the detailed facades, the sculpted faces of famous thinkers, leaders, pioneers and changemakers such as Cervantes, Umanumo and Columbus staring out from above the arches can hardly fail to move visitors.

For our 25 young SPF Salamatinos, this square became quite a favourite spot over the five days that they spent in the city; a place to meet up, to eat, to observe, to be entertained and to discover new things. It was fascinating to see the nervous excitement of our young adventurers, their sensitivity to new and unfamiliar surroundings and their curiosity about cultural differences on our walks and tours around the beautiful streets, buildings, museums and churches of this ancient university town. From the spires of the old and new cathedrals down to banks of the river Tormes they stepped out of the comfort of their familiar routines and situations, and  embraced challenges.

Spending time in Spanish classes at the friendly Colegio Delibes in the mornings gave these Junior School pupils a real boost to their communication skills and the confidence to try out their Spanish at mealtimes and around the town. We had a break from classes on Saturday morning and our group had the opportunity to listen and join in with a wonderfully animated storyteller who acted out the story of Don Quixote. After the literary heights of Cervantes, the group then went on to learn how to make slime in Spanish, which could well have been a highlight of the trip although that probably rests with the spending of carefully counted euros!

I am sure this group of juniors will have many lasting memories from their Spanish adventure and who knows if this won’t inspire them to go on language trips and exchange programmes in the future. Many thanks to Mrs Foreman for organising such a fantastic expedition.

Pupil comments:

'I’ve been learning a lot of Spanish these past few days. Today we had a tour of Salamanca and saw a museum with shells all over. Rumour says that underneath one of the shells there is lots of money!' Richard

'When we finished in the play park we set off on our tour of central Salamanca. Andrea, our tour guide, showed us some 15th century buildings and it was interesting to find the frog sculpture and the astronaut.' Aoife

'We went to a cathedral, there were so many stairs to the first floor and you could see an art wall in the distance but my especially favourite bit was when we got to the top and we were sitting on stools under the bells and then they went BOOM and everyone screamed!' Eva

'The car museum was really fantastic as we got to see all the different cars from back in those days. Everyone took lots of photos, there were so many different cars.' Eleanor

'Salamanca is great, the stone work is amazing and I have millions of photos to share!' Willow