Over half term 26 students and 3 staff visited New York City and Washington DC to further examine elements of their History and Politics A level courses.

The trip started with a two day visit to NYC which involved a brief shopping trip to Times Square, dinner in the Hard Rock Café and a look out over the NYC landscape from the Top of the Rock. On day two we were fortunate enough to meet with Mark Levy, a veteran of the Civil Rights Movement who had worked in the Mississippi freedom schools. He posed the question; what in life was worth fighting for? And gave examples of how we must always continue to fight for equality and democracy. Following a ferry trip to see the Statue of Liberty we packed up and left for Washington DC.

In contrast to NYC, DC has a sense of calm about it. Our first day started with a city tour from Richard Chema, an ex-federal prosecutor and Congressional candidate. His tour included The Capitol, The White House, The US Supreme Court, The Washington Monument, The Vietnam War memorial and the Lincoln Memorial to name but a few. His passion for education, justice and democracy prevailed his tour and it culminated in a very emotional final few words stood on the spot that Martin Luther King Jnr delivered his ‘I have a dream’ speech, something none of us will ever forget.

We were also fortunate enough to see the recently unveiled portrait of Barrack and Michelle Obama in the National Portrait Gallery and visit the National Archives to see the original Constitution, Bill of Rights and Articles of the Confederation alongside one of the four original copies of the Magna Carta. A trip to Mount Vernon, and a number of the Smithonian museums, not to mention the infamous Ben’s Chilli Bowl made for a packed yet wonderful itinerary.

Many thanks to the staff and students who made this such a memorable trip.