Eight Year 12 students along with Mrs Croucher embarked on an unforgettable trip to Athens and Olympia for the 2024 European School Sport and Educational Games. Here’s a brief diary from their week-long adventure:
DAY 1 (13 April)
The group set off in the early hours of Saturday morning (2.00am) for Newcastle Airport. (A huge thank you to Miss Harpham for driving them in the school minibus).
The flight to Amsterdam went smoothly but the wait at Amsterdam was rather long, however, everyone’s spirits remained high. Eventually arriving in Athens around 4.30pm, they met the students from Sandside Lodge School in Ulverston.
Happily, arrived at the beautiful hotel – the rooms, the grounds, the pool, the beach! Too late for a swim but had a fantastic buffet style dinner with foods from different countries.
After dinner, time was spent wandering the grounds and sitting chatting on the beach.
An early night was planned but didn’t quite happen as one of the students realised a porridge pot had burst in his case – it was everywhere! Lots of laughter during the cleaning up process and eventually everyone retired to bed (hoping for a swim in the morning before the journey to Olympia).
DAY 2 (14 April)
Another day of glorious sunshine! After a wonderful buffet style breakfast, they headed to the pool where they had a great hour playing ball games and mixing with the other English students before setting off on the long trip to Olympia.
With a 5-hour journey of wonderful scenery, mountains and bright blue sea later they arrived at the hotel in Olympia along with around 180 students from other countries.
Another delicious buffet was laid on for dinner in a beautiful restaurant looking out over the sea as the sun set. Then it was back to their rooms for an attempt at an earlier night in readiness for the start of the official programme of events for the Games starting the next morning.
DAY 3 (15 April)
On Monday, the educational programme got underway. They were introduced to Diane de Navacenne de Coubertin, granddaughter of Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the Modern Olympic Games. She led them in an art workshop to produce a picture of the Olympic torch relay made up of 20 individual pictures. Students were asked to get into teams with those of different nationalities to work on these. By the end of the second session in the afternoon, the artwork was completed and looked amazing.
In the morning, students also listened to Dr Constantinos Filis, the Director of the International Olympic Truce Centre, who talked about the importance of peace in the world and the aims of the Olympic Games in relation to this.
In the evening, all 200 students attended the signing of the Olympic Truce at the Archaeological Museum in Olympia attended by many dignitaries from around Greece including the President. This was followed by a huge photography session during which the students were able to have their picture taken with some of the dignitaries.
DAY 4 (16 April)
On Tuesday, the students attended the ceremony for the lighting of the Olympic flame at the ancient Olympic Stadium in Olympia. Hundreds of people attended, and they sat on the hill above to observe the ceremony.
Women dressed as high priestesses lit the flame in front of the temple of Hera and then the high priestess accompanied by her priestesses and the kouroi (marble statues of young men) represented by a group of young Greek dancers, performed a beautiful dance routine inspired by ancient times.
The Olympic flame, a symbol of hope and peace in the world, was then placed in an urn and brought to the ancient stadium. It was handed over to the first torch bearer, Stephanos Ntouskos, the gold medal winner in the men’s single sculls at the 2020 Tokyo Oympics.
Speeches were given by Tony Estanguet, the President of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralymic Games, and Thomas Bach, the President of the International Olympic Committee.
The students then wandered through the archaeological site of Olympia and saw the Greek guards, the Evzones or ‘Pompoms’.
After lunch at the hotel, they headed out to see torches being exchanged. They got to see the exchange close up and as the next runner set off, unexpectedly the students were told to run with him. It was a wonderful sight and a great memory for the students.
Back at the hotel, the students had some much-needed down time, spending it between the beach and the pool. They dressed up for dinner and had a lovely, chilled evening.
DAY 5 (17 April)
It was another packed day on Wednesday. They spent a further morning exploring Ancient Olympia where a tour guide gave them an enlightening tour of the Archaeological site of Olympia, the sanctuary of Zeus and the buildings and monuments around it.
They then returned to the ancient stadium where they raced each other, running the length of the stadium just as the first runners did back in 776BC.
With energy to spare, they went on to visit the Archaeological Museum which houses finds from the excavation of the sanctuary of Zeus.
The Olympic Sports Academy (the main education and cultural institution for the International Olympic Committee) was the final venue in the afternoon. It’s a beautiful building with pristine grounds and sports facilities. The students had pictures taken in Coubertin Grove where the heart of Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the Modern Olympics, is laid to rest.
The group returned to the hotel near Olympia for one last time for a very late lunch before setting off on the long coach journey back to Athens. The journey ended with all the students on the coach singing together and making song requests to the driver.
DAY 6 (18 April)
On Thursday morning, the students at the ESSF Games in Greece headed to Pallini, a municipality of Athens, to a basketball centre. They were split into teams made up of four students from different countries and played friendly basketball matches for a few hours. No scores were kept, just an emphasis was on participation and friendship. Everyone enjoyed themselves and our students interacted really well and made new friends. When it wasn’t their turn to play, they started mini games of volleyball and keepy-uppy around the outside of the courts.
With the numerous early mornings and late nights beginning to take their toll, it was decided that the students needed some down-time that afternoon and evening. So, our students headed to the pool to relax, sunbathe and swim. They met up with another of the English schools and played ball games in the pool. A lovely afternoon.
In the evening, they wandered around the hotel grounds meeting up with students from other countries and joined in with volleyball on the beach. A much-deserved chill time well spent!
DAY 7 (19 April)
Friday saw another early start. First stop was the Acropolis, stunning under a clear blue sky.
Many photos later, they group moved onto the impressive Panathenaic Stadium, the only stadium in the world built entirely of marble. It was built originally in the 6th century BC, to host the Panathenaic Games, a rival to the Olympic Games and later the site of the first modern Olympic games. Here the students played various basketball and volleyball activities which were organised for them in teams made up of students from different countries. Despite the heat, they threw themselves into it and had fun. Most students also visited the onsite museum which displayed the posters used for every Olympic Games.
The students were then given some free time late in the afternoon to explore some of Athens. Some of the Greek students that our students had made friends with, lived in Athens and they took a group of our students to a Greek restaurant they knew for lunch. Others went for lunch and did a bit of souvenir and present shopping.
Back at the hotel, the week culminated with Nations’ Night. Everyone dressed smartly, gathered in a room which had been set up for the occasion and had dinner. This was followed by speeches from the organisers, presentation of certificates of participation for each country and then a video of the final day put together by the trip photographer who had been taking photos all week at every opportunity. Each delegation then set up a table of gifts which represented their country which they offered to the other delegations. Finally, on came some Greek music and everyone joined in with some Greek style dancing.
DAY 8 (20 April)
On Saturday morning eight tired but happy students emerged slowly from their rooms for one last breakfast in Greece. A quick dash to the hotel shop for some last-minute gifts and then it was time to leave.
The trip organiser and some of the Greek friends the students had made came to wave them off. Many delegations had left earlier.
The trip back went incredibly smoothly; the six-hour wait between flights in Amsterdam, which the students hadn’t been looking forward to, actually flew by. Some slept. Most shopped. They all bought food at extortionate airport prices.
A huge thank you to Mrs Angland for meeting the group at Newcastle airport late at night with the school minibus for the journey back to school.
Trip leader, Mrs Croucher said, “The students had a wonderful week. They threw themselves into everything and made the most of every opportunity offered. They worked well with the other teams from England and didn’t shy away from mixing with students from other countries, making lasting memories and new friends. They were a real credit to the school and an absolute pleasure to spend time with. Thank you to the European School Sports Federation for this wonderful opportunity and to Karen Erikson from the Youth Sports Trust for inviting us.”
Imogen Rome said, “It was a really good trip, a little bit different to what I was expecting. We met lots of people from other countries.”
Sarah Fraser remarked, “I’d definitely do it again. The Acropolis was cool, and we went to the Olympic training ground with amazing monuments.”
Alex MacRae commented, “The weather was great and the volleyball on the beach with other students from different countries was definitely a highlight for me.”
Ellie Blenkinsop said, “We met some really nice people that we’ll definitely keep in touch with.”
View the official video of the event here and spot some William Howard School faces:
