Whilst the rest of the school was preparing for the Royal Visit at the end of last term, 20 pupils left Bruton, heading for Sorrento, Italy. 

Following an early start, a flight to Naples and a coach journey, the pupils arrived at Campi Flegrei – a Flavian Amphitheatre where there was a guided tour as well as a lookout point across the volcanic activity at Solfatara.  Before the pupils headed to the hotel for the evening, they stopped off at the Temple of Serapis – an archeological site with impressive preservation. 

Day 2 saw the pupils climb to the top of Mount Vesuvius with a guided tour – despite the windy conditions the pupils thoroughly enjoyed looking in to the crater of the infamous volcano. After pizza for lunch, we had a brilliant guided tour around the grounds of Pompeii; this was one of the highlights of the trip and the history locked up in the ruins of Pompeii did not disappoint. In the evening, the pupils got the chance to explore the local town around the hotel in Sorrento. The following day, we headed to Herculaneum and explored the preserved town that was engulfed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. In the afternoon, we headed in to Naples and spent time exploring the underground catacombs as well as the WWII bomb shelters and the underground religious temples. 

The final day in Italy was spent exploring the island of Capri. Pupils got a boat to the island and went on a guided tour, looking at its coastal features. The weather was brilliant, and the pupils enjoyed their free time on Capri, with a highlight being the chairlift to the viewpoint above Anacapri. On the final evening of the trip, the pupils spent time making ice cream in a local ice cream shop in Sorrento and we finished the trip with a pizza night in a local restaurant. The pupils had a brilliant time and were a credit to themselves and the school.

Emily Corrigan - Head of Geography