On the 10th of February, 19 students headed to Heathrow Airport to embark on their New York adventure! The purpose of this trip was to allow Media students to experience the world of Media within another country and explore different careers and pathways within the industry. With only 5 days we had a lot to cram in!
Once we landed and checked in we went straight for a meal at the famous Bubba Gump Restaurant that features in the “Forest Gump” films. After a good night sleep …we got up bright and early and took a ferry to visit the Statue of Liberty and were lucky enough to board first so we could sit on the top deck and get the best views of the famous New York skyline. Next we headed to the NBC studios and had a tour of how they create and edit TV shows, and were even lucky enough to see them setting up and rehearsing for the Saturday Night Live Show with Alec Baldwin and Ed Sheeran as the host and guest! That night we ate the Hard Rock Café in Times Square and then made our way to watch Disney’s Aladdin on Broadway! It was truly a magical performance and the Genie was everyone’s favourite character (with a lot of dabbing!)
The next day we headed to the 9/11 Tribute centre and it was a very moving experience. We saw the waterfalls and memorials set up in honour of the victims and had a Q&A session with a woman who actually worked in the World Trade Centre. There were a lot of tears from hearing her stories, but also a lot of new understanding and respect for the event. A massively worthwhile experience. After lunch we headed to the world’s biggest department store Macy’s for a bit of retail therapy. Then at 9pm to went to the top of the Empire State Building to take in the twinkling lights of New York at night.
On our final day we headed to the New York Film Academy for an acting workshop and the students were incredible! Such amazing actors! The staff were very impressed with their hard work and efforts. We then walked along the famous Brooklyn Bridge and visited Central Park for a snowy afternoon before heading back to the airport.
The students were extremely well behaved and a credit to the school and did themselves proud. They were a pleasure to take on this trip and we hope to run similar ones due to how mature and sensible they were.
Student quotes
“Empire State building was amazing- the views were incredible and not everyone gets to experience it.”
“9/11 was an awesome opportunity that not many people get to experience and it was so interesting hearing it from someone who was actually there.”
“Aladdin was a lot better than I thought it was going to be- I have never seen a proper show before so it really blew me away.”
Photos to follow.