7 October 2022
Our Year 12 Induction Weekend to Liverpool is a highlight in the school's calendar. Here is an account of the 2022 experience of our 100 Year 12s!
...Put simply, a jam-packed weekend I will never forget.
(Note the Beatles-related puns dotted throughout this article – please do not screw up your faces in contempt when you find one).
The weekend started auspiciously with a relatively relaxing bus journey to the friendly YHA youth hostel located just next to the Royal Albert Dock. As they say, this was the calm before the storm. Upon arrival, we ate our food provided by the hostel and got all dressed up for the fanciest excursion we’d ever been on – a trip to English National Ballet’s Swan Lake at the ornate Liverpool Empire theatre, a scene that I, in my top, jeans and trainers, was definitely not equipped for. Two and a half hours of mesmerizing dancing and a few confused students later, we all left the building in awe of the dancers’ skills and talent. We arrived back at the hostel a quick 20 minute walk later, and definitely went straight to bed as requested by the teachers (rather than dance around the dormitory at about 1 am the next day).
Many tired faces, pyjamas and cups of coffee lined the cafeteria the next morning, but we were promptly hurried along to catch the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour bus, travelling “here, there and everywhere” with our lovely bus driver, Anne, and Chloe, our tour guide, who held a wealth of knowledge not only about the Beatles (especially George Harrison), but also about the rich history of Liverpool, including the only grade 1-listed toilets in Britain located in the Philharmonic Pub. Personally, driving past all four of the Beatles’ childhood homes has got to be one of the most surreal experiences in my life, closely followed by singing “Strawberry Fields” and “Penny Lane” on the way to visit these world-renowned sights. After singing a slightly out-of-tune version of “Hey Jude” as a finale, the bus pulled up to the Royal Albert Dock, from which we were set free to do whatever we wanted to for the rest of the day. My friends and I indulged in a bit of shopping and a nutritious pit-stop at McDonalds before a couple of us hit the World Museum for around 4 hours in the afternoon – thoroughly enjoyable in our opinion, so much so we finished a few of the last exhibitions in the last few hours of free time we had the following day.
Arriving back to the youth hostel bang on the deadline of 8pm, a teacher vs student quiz lay ahead of us, and as true Newport Girls’ students, things got competitive. Mrs Martin’s one hour quiz at the end of a slightly chaotic but fun day elicited more than “a little help from my friends” when it came to answering pages upon pages of logic puzzles and general knowledge questions. Mr Pointon’s slightly rash deduction of points to every team that was “annoying” a.k.a talking, along with Mr Tolley’s slightly abstract rendition of the swans from Swan Lake the night prior, certainly made the night. Our team came a respectable third place. A proud position to wear on our sleeves.
Safe to say it was a “hard day’s night”, and we were all sure to be “sleeping like a log” until the next day. When it came to Sunday, we used our last few hours to say our goodbyes to the Liverpool One shopping centre, a place which we knew like the back our hands by the end of the weekend. Then, we hopped on the coach to travel the “long and winding road” back to school.
I’d like to thank all of the teachers who gave up their weekend to run this trip, particularly Mrs Griffin, who meticulously planned the weekend - I highly urge everyone to sign up when its their chance to go. “I have a feeling” you’ll enjoy it just as we all have.
And to all my fellow Year 12 pupils heading on a high into a challenging two years of A-Level studies working “eight days a week”, “let it be”!
Katy H, Year 12
