Teachers and students from Astley Community High School, Whytrig Middle School and Seaton Sluice Middle School took a trip to Valencia, after 3 years of delays due to the pandemic.
The schools, all part of the Seaton Valley Federation, sent 34 students and 4 staff members on the deferred trip to Spain. Over 5 days, the group had the chance to play football with Spanish coaches, hosted by Valencia CF and Inspire Sports.
las escuelas juegan futbol
The group had to cope with he complications of taking a trip abroad post-pandemic including organising 38 Covid-19 recovery passports, vaccination records and PCR tests but luckily all members arrived safely in Spain. After multiple lockdowns and cancellations, the trip finally took place, taking those involved on an early morning flight from Newcastle to Alicante before hopping onto a 3 hour coach journey to Valencia.
The tour was a collaboration between Seaton Valley Federation’s football programme, Valencia CF and Inspire Sports. Seaton Valley also runs a Football Development Scheme. The football coaching programme has been running at Astley Community High School for over 15 years. The scheme is delivered by UEFA qualified coaching staff, giving young players in the North East a chance to develop their football skills.
The trip to Spain included daily football sessions with Valencia CF coaches at their academy, fixtures against local teams and a tour of the 55,000 seater Mestalla Stadium where Valencia CF take part in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football.
Beyond the fantastic football opportunities, the group also enjoyed visiting the sights of Valencia. Mr Robinson from Whytrig Middle School commented:
‘Pupils also had the opportunity to visit Valencia beach – it rained; a visit to Valencia Aquarium, the 2nd largest in the world – it rained again and also an evening’s entertainment at a local 10 pin bowling/arcade centre where we had an excellent meal.’
It’s a shame that the long awaited trip abroad in usually sunny Spain experienced some British style weather, however overall the trip was a success, making memories for the students that will last a lifetime.
Graham Scoot, Head of School at Astley Community High School commented:
“The Valencia trip was a huge success and was thoroughly enjoyed by all those who took part in it. It has been great to see opportunities like this being offered once again to our students after a couple of years of being very restricted. Hopefully, this will be the start of many other visits to similar destinations! Many thanks to everyone who helped organise and support this fantastic experience”
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