Clifton College Website

Hallward's House 2009 trip to London

Hallward's Upper Sixth went off to London for two days and painted the town red! We travelled up on the Monday morning and went straight to BBC, Wood Lane to see how the Television Centre really worked from the back. We had a fantastic tour; being taken around the news rooms, dressing rooms and Jonathan Ross' studio – finally performing in our own TV show. From there we made our way to our hotel in the centre of the City and once we had time to recover from the blistering heat outside, we braved it back out again and headed for a lovely restaurant in Covent Garden. Having now revived ourselves, we were ready for action and off again – this time to Drury Lane Theatre where we had the privilege of watching Rowan Atkinson in Oliver. This was the most fantastic performance of this very popular show we had ever seen; however, the heat was unbearable at times and the theatre provided us with hand held fans and copious bottles of water to keep us going! It was Charlotte Motley's 18th birthday, and so back to the hotel we went where we had a surprise for her – bubbly and birthday cake to celebrate.

The next morning everyone was very chipper and having met for breakfast we went shopping in Covent Garden (some brave souls went in search of Primark of course too) and then met for our final tour. This one was to be the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and we were to be taken backstage there. This was amazing and we were lucky enough to meet the wardrobe mistress who showed us the costumes for Sleeping Beauty which were being returned from Beijing where the Company had recently performed this ballet. We saw the rehearsal rooms, the auditorium (which was sensational) and many other areas which make up this famous landmark in the world of ballet and opera.

See the gallery

The heat was at times unbearable, but the girls were amazing company and the days flashed by as we all had such a wonderful time. The adults who went were: Mr. and Mrs. Pickles, Miss Tebay, Mrs. Jackson and Miss Graveney and the students who went were: Sophie Jackson, Alisha Watson, Georgia Hawkins, Natasha Quick, Charlotte Pierce, Abby Dudley, Lizzie Harper, Finella Tancred Holmes, Charlotte Motley, Nurul Haji Alias and Katie Longman. They were all a credit to their families and the school and I thank them for the standard they have set both on this trip and during their time in Hallward's.

© 2006-12 Clifton College