Leavers from prestigious Dublin school head to Amsterdam to visit the many museums there

Dublin (dpo) - Today we visited the King’s Hospital School in Dublin as the sixth year students gathered to set off on their post-exam trip to Amsterdam. Each year, the school puts on a cultural trip for the leavers. This year, the staff decided to fully engage students in the process, allowing them to select the destination by means of a democratic vote and have a hand in drawing up the itinerary.

“I am completely overwhelmed by how much interest the students have shown in the culture of the Netherlands”, enthuses history teacher Joanne Harrison (52). “When I explained to the class how the process would run this year it was a matter of only split seconds before someone from the back row immediately shouted ‘Amsterdam! Or anywhere else in Holland!’ ”
At once, other students picked up on this suggestion, and soon, a strong majority had emerged in favour of the Netherlands as a destination.

Not least because of its fascinating architecture, Amsterdam is a favourite destination for educational trips among Irish teenagers.

“I can hardly wait to really breathe in the atmosphere of an authentic Amsterdam coffee shop…uh, I mean see the many cultural sights of Amsterdam, of course!” 18-year-old Daniel O’Keeffe explained. “They have, uh, wait a minute…the Van Gogh museum, I believe, and then the, well, let’s say the cheese museum, and the Louvre, and there’s this little peeing statue by the main square. Yeah, these are things you should really see while you’re still young.”
Joanne Harrison, who is leading the trip to Amsterdam, organised the cultural programme, along with a student committee. “The students seem even more interested in the local coffee shop culture than in the museums”, she says. “As a former colonial power, the Dutch have always been big on trading in coffee. Since demand from the students was so high, I am especially glad that I will be able to offer a tour of Amsterdam’s prettiest coffee shops. After all, I am partial to a good cup of coffee, too!”
ejo, dan, ssi; pictures [M]: Shutterstock
Read the German version HERE.