Eighteen GCSE Latin students from Bishop’s Stortford College exchanged the wintry climate of the UK for the warmer 
climes of Italy over Easter.
During the co-educational, day and boarding school’s six-day trip to Rome and Sorrento, time was spent visiting the classical sites of Rome; the Forum, Colosseum, the Circus Maximus (now undergoing a face lift) and the more modern site of St Peter’s all ready for the new Pope’s first appearance on Palm Sunday, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps.
After this whistle stop tour, the Hertfordshire based group travelled down to the region of Campania to visit Pompeii’s houses, theatre, amphitheatre and brothel among other sites.
Once based in Sorrento, the travellers walked up Vesuvius, though, with the weather closing in no one was really sure that the top was actually reached. Another of Vesuvius’ victims, the town of Herculaneum, rounded off the excursions of that day.
The final full day of the tour saw the pupils sail (it was so choppy that two of the party turned very nasty colours) across to Capri to get a glimpse of the lifestyle of the rich and famous who live on the rock. This proved to be the only wet day, so the full charms of the island were lost on the sightseers.
Shopping in Sorrento was a great hit among the female members of the group while the boys got stuck in to the ice cream making with Antonio (purveyor of an ice cream cake to the Pope and maker of a full size chocolate Ferrari).
All in all a very good way to end the term and bring the lessons of the classroom to life.