Florida Trip

Over the February break, Mrs Munro, Ms Armour, Mr McMullan and Dr Walker took a group of 35 pupils from S4-S6 to Orlando, Florida, for an exciting STEM adventure.

On the first day, pupils got to experience a special educational tour of Universal Studios and see behind the scenes of some of the most popular rides and experiences the park had to offer. The pupils took delight in riding the rollercoasters as many times as possible, whilst Mr McMullan and Dr Walker provided lots of interesting facts about the physics and engineering behind them. In the evening pupils were able to watch the famous Universal Orlando Mardi Gras parade which was spectacular!

On day two, pupils attended a workshop at Orlando Science Centre where they took part in a Forensic Lab. Pupils discovered how techniques such as chromatography, blood typing and facial composite computer software have changed the world of crime solving. Pupils then used the various scientific techniques and their problem solving skills to solve a crime — pupils were focussed and hard working during this activity.

Later in the day pupils were able to experience indoor skydiving at iFly and learned about how the vertical wind tunnels were designed to allow people to safely experience the sensation of skydiving indoors. This was followed by a relaxing evening at a comedy dinner show and visiting the WonderWorks museum. Several daring pupils chose to take part in the astronaut training challenge where they could experience the feeling of weightlessness and the rolls and tumbles that astronauts feel when they are conquering missions in space; a brave move after all the pizza!

“The Florida trip was incredibly fun and memorable, from the action packed days at Universal Studios to the entertaining comedy show and arcade at WonderWorks. My favourite days were those spent at the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral, where we got to see the immensity of the Saturn V rocket that took mankind to the Moon. A truly out of this world experience!”
Christian (S5)

Pupils returned to Universal on day 3, but this time visiting Islands of Adventure. Beautiful weather and the opportunity to relax, shop or thrill-seek meant that there was something for everyone. Our only complaint was that the day flew in far too fast. This was by far the pupils’ favourite day of the whole trip and the teachers had a great time too! The finale of our trip was being able to spend two days at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island. Pupils were able to stand nose to nose with the Saturn V rocket, get an up-close view of Atlantis, meet an astronaut and even take part in a simulation rocket launch. After visiting KSC pupils took a trip to a local shopping mall to do some final souvenir shopping before heading home the next day.

“Overall the Florida trip was an unforgettable adrenaline-fuelled experience. From the rides at Universal to going up on stage at a comedy show, I did things I never thought I ever would. The IFly indoor skydiving was a personal favourite, allowing for some not so flattering photos and a rush of excitement.”
Ali (S6)

Pupils were wonderful ambassadors for the school and the teachers received compliments everywhere they went from activity leaders and the general public about how well behaved and respectful they were. Hopefully a similar trip will run again in future for more pupils to enjoy!