Within this section, you will see some of the wonderful things that we got up to whilst on our trip to Prague in March. 

Day 1: Monday 11th March

We have had an absolutely brilliant first day travelling to Prague. Everyone has been absolutely fantastic and have really shown our Welton values of respect and courage. After the first leg of the journey, we enjoyed a quick stop at Reading services and celebrated Lauren's birthday with a slice of cake and a song before heading off to terminal 3!

On arrival at Heathrow, we were promptly fast-tracked through security and into the departures lounge for lunch and a fair few journey sweets! In what seemed like no time at all, we boarded the plane, found our seats and waited for take off (which was a little later than planned!). Cries such as "We're in heaven," and "This is the best day ever!" echoed around the plane and after take off we all settled down to draw and enjoy the in-flight snacks! 

When we landed, our coach arrived and took us to the Villa which is AMAZING! We've all had lots of fun unpacking and getting to know the children from the other schools. Mr. Snell negotiated pizza over the phone and the largest pizzas we have ever seen arrived and were devoured by everyone! We then had a little bit of time writing in our journals before heading to bed (and a little more chatting!). We're very excited to go and see the school tomorrow - Mrs Berry has all her fingers crossed that we sleep soundly!!

Tuesday 12th March

What a fantastic second day here in Prague! We spent the day at Skola Da Vinci and what an exciting day it was. It kicked off with some ice breaker games in one of their classrooms and was swiftly followed by a guided tour of the school. Our class were absolutely fantastic- they joined in and were quick to form new friendships with the Czech children. We then had a bit of time in the canteen for a little snack- a little trepidation here as we were faced with new foods but we all had a little nibble (and some consumed a lot more!).

No time to rest as we then headed out to play in the grounds- the international language of football united many of the group and the others enjoyed playing in the grounds- the tree house, the climbing frame and the trampoline were all a massive hit. Lunch was up next and duck, dumplings and chicken broth were on the menu!

The afternoon then whizzed by in a flurry of activity; baking Mazanec (Easter bread), playing in the gymnasium and, of course, swimming! Inevitably, we were hungry again and this time we headed to the fire pit to cook 'Speckaky" sausage and marshmallows. As the sun set, 6 weary (and slightly smoky children) headed towards the coach back to the Villa for a spruce up, some more snacks and a bit of chill time before bed. It really has been a brilliant day and everyone has fallen asleep quickly- wahoo! We're off to the zoo tomorrow- enjoy the pictures!

Wednesday 13th March

It has been another absolutely fantastic day here in Prague. The zoo was everything we were hoping it would be and more. From baby elephants to gorillas, giraffes and even a polar bear (Mrs Berry's favourite!). We had a delightful tour with a guide called Deanna who was very knowledgeable about the animals and the history of the park too. We then met with our Czech friends for lunch before heading to the park to let off steam and race down the slides together. 

We then headed back to the villa for a bit of chill time - art, games and a film too. This was followed by a mega spaghetti bolognese and ice cream for pudding. Needless to say everyone is feeling quite tired this evening- Mrs Berry's step count is well over 20,000 so it's early to bed for everyone! Enjoy a selection of snaps below! 

Thursday 14th March

The morning kicked off with a breakfast of pancakes which was met with much enthusiasm from everyone. Feeling refreshed, we headed into the magnificent, bustling city of Prague. We kicked off the day with a walking tour starting at the castle with our wonderful guide, Markéta. As we entered, lots of fancy and impressive cars drove past and we wondered who was in them. It turns out that it was no less than the president of the Philippines himself visiting the government buildings. As we strolled through, we came to another stop and witnessed the guard playing the national anthem of the Czech republic and the Philippines. 

We then headed through the castle (stopping for a few photo opportunities) and down onto the Charles Bridge where we all made a wish on a special statue - we won't tell you what we wished for or it won't come true! After this, it was time to spend some of our Czech Krona in the souvenir shops. What seemed like hours later (your children love to mooch!), we walked on to a little spot in the centre of the city to spend a few more moments with our Czech friends but first- lunch! After another round of sandwiches, biscuits and crisps were consumed and we were ready to play but our Czech friends had other ideas and surprised us all by giving us little gifts that they had made themselves. It was really lovely to see the smiles on the surprised faces as the presents were exchanged and they were delighted to find unique gifts for each of them inside.

We then headed back to the villa for games together, lots of giggles and a delicious dinner of fajitas and ice cream. If that wasn't enough, we settled down before bed with a film, hot chocolate and popcorn! Lights have now gone out and hopefully tired eyes are shutting ready for our journey home tomorrow...

Friday 15th March

...and just like that it was time to pack up and go home! After a very (and much needed) lazy start to the day, we began packing up our bags and hunting for various items around the villa. Lauren and Aiyana proved to be incredibly well trained cleaners and swept up copious amounts of wrappers and dirt in the girls' bedrooms and the lounge downstairs- dutifully paid for in the currency of chocolate! One last sweep of the bedrooms revealed t-shirts, hoodies and, unsurprisingly, socks!

We then boarded the coach and headed to the airport to find that we were going to be slightly delayed. Not a problem for our now expert travellers who brought out card games and note pads galore entertaining themselves for the subsequent 40 minutes or so. It was also another great opportunity to have a picnic and they all hungrily consumed ham sandwiches and crisps! 

The following few hours passed in a sugar whirlwind through duty free and onto the plane where the cabin crew treated us kindly to extra snacks and juice! One more quick passport stop and we were claiming our bags and heading to the coach! The excitement levels were high as everyone thought about the meal they'd been waiting for all week... McDonald's! Unfortunately, Reading services don't offer that but we were all more than happy to tuck into a Burger King or KFC as by now it was quite late! 

A last toilet trip and we headed back on the road with our final destination in sight. The children were full of chatter and giggles as we headed through Bath and past familiar sights. It was so lovely to see them reunite with friends and family members with hugs and kisses aplenty! 

Your children have been a real delight this week and it has been a pleasure to experience Prague with them- they have demonstrated our Welton values in abundance and we hope they enjoyed the experience as much as we did! Here's a video of the week capturing a small snippet of our highlights! Enjoy!