Business Studies & Economics Trip to the US 2023
Over the February half-term, over 40 excited students and 5, slightly terrified, teachers set off to visit the United States on a Business and Economics trip!
We started our journey in Washington DC where we spent a day walking around the city and seeing its famous sights. We saw The White House, The Capitol, the Washington Monument, the Library of Congress, the Martin Luther King Memorial and the Abraham Lincoln Memorial - where we witnessed people protesting for women's rights in Iran. Whilst on our way to the ‘Big Apple’ we stopped in Philadelphia to see the legendary Liberty Bell (as well as to eat the legendary Philly Cheese Steak). Philadelphia were preparing to play in the Super Bowl later that evening, so we spent our short amount of time there shouting “Go Birds” to as many people as possible. Additionally, we witnessed Mr Powell and Mr Dhir attempt to race up the Rocky Steps, arguably the best moment of the trip…
We arrived in New York and immediately went to see Times Square as it was so close to our hotel. Throughout the week we managed to fit in as many activities as possible. We started with a walk of Manhattan, where we did 35,000 steps and did not hold back on complaining about how tired we were, however, the sights we saw were worth the aching legs. Later in the afternoon we were lucky enough to receive a tour of Hershey’s, we learnt about the history of the business and how they have grown into a multinational company. We then had a tour of the United Nations the next day when we were able to go into the General Assembly and witness a meeting in progress. We saw a Nobel Peace Prize and were given the time to ask as many questions as possible to our tour guide. We ended Valentine’s Day on the top of The Empire State Building where we even witnessed a proposal.
Our next day was our busiest yet. We took a ferry to see the magnificent Statue of Liberty and then to Ellis Island to learn more about the history of immigration in America. After we had visited the gift shop to buy an unnecessary amount of fridge magnets we travelled to the Financial District and were lucky enough to receive a guided tour. We saw The New York Stock Exchange, Wall Street and the heart-breaking 9/11 Memorial. As if that wasn't enough walking for the day we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, which we would have got across in half the time if we did not take so many photos! The majority of us then caught the subway to the Brooklyn Nets vs Miami Heat’s Basketball game at the Barclays Centre, an amazing way to commemorate our final evening.
Before we got the coach back to the airport, we spent our final morning in the best way possible - shopping! My suitcase increased by 5 kg on the way home. Our plane journey home consisted of very exhausted, but content students who did not want to go home. We needed to catch up on sleep after averaging 100,000 steps over the course of our trip! It was an absolutely incredible trip, and we would like to thank Mr Joe for organising it and Mrs Harris, Mr Dhir, Mr Powell and Miss Mani for giving up their half-term to take us. Thank you for such amazing memories!
Lydia Forsdyke, Year 13
football in school. Watch this space…
