1:00pm Tuesday 9th March 2010
By Charlotte Foot
STUDENTS and staff from a Dorchester school have lived the American dream after visiting New York and Washington.
A total 98 sixth formers and 10 members of staff from the Thomas Hardye School spent three days in the Big Apple before travelling to Washington for four days.
The Year 12 and 13 students, aged between 16 and 18, also visited Philadelphia.
This is the sixth time that the biannual trip has happened.
Students and staff stayed at the Hotel Edison, near Times Square in the heart of New York.
In Washington, the group stayed at the Hotel Harrington, where there was more than 2ft of snow – the heaviest snowfall for almost 90 years.
On their first night in New York, students and staff were lucky enough to see West Side Story at the Palace Theatre on Broadway.
The students explored the Big Apple by foot, participating in walking tours of Midtown and Lower Manhattan.
They spent the second night 1,050ft above the city in the Empire State Building Observatory located on the 86th floor.
On their final day in New York, the group boarded a ferry to see the Statue of Liberty before disembarking at Ellis Island.
Their last day in the city was one of mixed emotions as the students visited Ground Zero to pay their respects to those who lost their lives in the September 11 attacks before going ice-skating in Central Park later that night.
The sixth formers also had the opportunity to visit museums and to spend their dollars in the world’s largest store – Macy’s.
Year 12 student Felicity Lowther, 16, said the trip exceeded all of her expectations.
The students took in the sights of Washington on walking tours, which included visits to the George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt memorials as well as the Capitol and the White House.
Year 13 student Sarah Carter, 17, who is applying to study American studies at university, said: “I enjoyed seeing what America’s really like and experiencing American history.”
Sixth form co-ordinator and history teacher Katie Taylor has been on the trip three times.
She said: “It’s a wonderful experience and opportunity for myself and the students.”
Director of sixth form Anthony Moore said it was a successful trip.
He added: “The students participated in a whole range of activities – there was something everyone could enjoy.”
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