On Monday 15 October, 41 Year 11 GCSE history students travelled to New York. The following day we caught the subway to Harlem, a place in NYC that has historically been the home of African Americans. We learnt about the civil rights movement and more about the life of Malcom X, a civil rights activist during the 1960s, standing in the exact spot where he delivered one of his most famous speeches. We caught the subway and boat to the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France to the United States, and an icon of freedom. Catching another boat to Ellis Island we went around the museum. Many of us found this particularly fascinating, as we traced the process that an immigrant would have taken in order to be accepted into the country. We learnt about America as being ‘a melting pot’ full of all different nationalities. Travelling back to midtown New York we walked through Times Square at night, an iconic scenery in this city, to watch the Broadway show ‘Chicago’ which was very well done and popular amongst the rest of the students.

Day 3 began with a 4 hour walking tour of midtown New York City, where we saw some of the most iconic structures, such as: the Rockefeller Centre; Trump Tower; St. Patrick’s Cathedral; Central Park and Grand Central Station. We visited the 9/11 memorial, and the museum, which most of us found to be quite an emotional and moving experience. After this, we walked through Wall Street. It was fascinating to be shown where the greatest stock market crash in the history of the United States occurred starting the Great Depression in America. Our final evening started at Planet Hollywood, before free time in Macy’s, one of the world’s largest and most iconic shopping stores. After this, we visited the Empire State building. We were lucky enough to see the iconic view of New York City at night time.

By Georgie Radford

After our time in New York we travelled by bus to Washington. Stopping for a break to see what a service station was like in the United States. Driving through Washington we saw some of the significant buildings such as the Capitol building and the theatre where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. On our walking tour the first monument we could see was the Washington because it was so tall. Outside of the Lincoln memorial we were able to stand in the spot where Martin Luther King delivered his “I have a dream” speech. We had some time to go to the World War 2 memorial and the Vietnam War memorial to commemorate those lost at the war. We also went to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorial as we have studied him and his presidency as part of our GCSE course. In the evening we ate at the famous Bens Chili Bowl, a place where President Obama has eaten.

The next day we went to the White House and the White House Visitor’s Centre. Followed by the Holocaust Museum to reflect on those killed as part of the war and to help improve our knowledge. We then went on a tour of the US Capitol and learnt about how Congress works.

On our final day we visited the African-American History museum which showed the lives of the African Americans and what happened to them all the way from slavery in America, through segregation in the 1920s, the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s, up to modern day. A visit to the Arlington cemetery to see the grave and eternal flame of John Fitzgerald Kennedy and all the graves of others who died for their country before setting off to the airport and back to England.

By Harvey Anderson