By Roisin O’Dwyer
On Sunday the 13th of April, sixty-five enthusiastic netball students, assisted by five amazing teachers, from St Augustine’s Priory left for Paris. This was a fantastic school trip opportunity to play at the International Junior Netball Festival open to female teams of all ability levels at under 12, under 14, under 16 and under 18 age categories. The tournament is run by Sports experiences, alongside coaching from Elite Netball, and is attended to by hundreds of ambitious players, supportive coaches, and other netball enthusiasts each year. But netball isn’t the only activity on the itinerary; as the trip consists of numerous entertaining activities throughout the five days.
Here is a breakdown of our five days in Paris:
Day 1 (13th of April): An early start was crucial to fulfil the trip to its fullest potential- so all students and teachers met outside the school at 6:30am on Sunday morning. Tiredness was overruled by energy and excitement for the upcoming days and was essential to keep morale up after an eleven hour journey to our destination! This included driving to Dover, where we took a ferry across to Calais, France and then a further journey to Paris. At approximately 9pm, we arrived at our hotel exhilarated and exuberant to explore its fantastic facilities, including a pool and waterslide area, an arcade, a soft play, gift shops, and food spots. We then settled into our rooms, buzzing for the next day.
Day 2 (14th of April): Beginning the day with breakfast at the hotel, we headed to the Centre Commercial Val d’Europe- a large, bustling shopping centre located only five minutes away from Disneyland Paris. We had the opportunity to do some shopping and have lunch before the strenuous training session ahead. This training session lasted for three hours and was run by Elite Netball, to prepare players for the upcoming competition and provide advice on how to improve technique. All participants had sessions in attack, defence, shooting, agility and fitness, as well as a Q and A with netball star Millie Sanders. This was a brilliant opportunity for players to refine their skills, become comfortable with the competition’s conditions and have an enjoyable afternoon. We finished an amazing day by relaxing in the hotel, enjoying its leisure facilities and the dinner buffet.
Year 10 with Millie Sanders
Day 3 (15th of April): Day three was a pivotal day as it marked the reason we came to Paris; to play in the tournament. It was an action packed day with all students playing from 9am – 6pm- approximately eight matches per team. St Augustines was represented strongly by teams from years 7-10 against other amazing teams from across the UK – as well as teams from Australia and Botswana! It was thoroughly enjoyable to connect with new people from all year groups, with all of the St Augustine’s players supporting our three year seven teams, two year eight, two year nine and two year ten teams. Achievement highlights included our under 12, under 14, and under 16 A teams each placing 3rd in the cup competitions, and the B teams placing in the top halves of their competitions!
Day 4 (16th of April): Day four was considered the majority’s favourite day as it consisted of a trip to Paris’ Disneyland and Warner Brothers Studios Parks. During the day, students had the freedom to explore both parks, going on a range of exciting rides. At lunchtime, students and teachers headed to Disney Village for the tournament awards ceremony. We enjoyed refreshments, lunch and excitement as trophies were presented to each team that took part. Throughout the rest of the afternoon, students had the opportunity to continue exploring the parks through rides, food and gift shops, with many sporting Disney ears later in the day! The end of a fantastic day came to a close with the freedom to enjoy the magical Disneyland fireworks.
Day 5 (17th of April): This day was bittersweet as it was time to leave Paris to return to London, but everyone was energised and excited after the memorable trip. We returned on the ferry, followed by a coach journey, and arrived back at school hours earlier than anticipated. This was greeted with enthusiasm after the long journey to get to Paris.
Upon returning to England, I gathered some student responses about their experience of the trip:
- What was your proudest moment throughout the trip?
- “My proudest moment was being able to play with my team and represent the school at such a big tournament.” – Amelia, Year 10
- “My proudest moment was scoring a goal from the edge of the D – everyone was cheering!” – Erin, Year 7
- “My proudest moment was facing my fears of going on the rides at Disneyland.” – Emily, Year 10
- What did you enjoy most about the trip?
- “My favourite part was getting to go to Disneyland- I loved the rides.” – Amelia, Year 10
- “I loved going down the waterslides at the pool.” – Erica, Year 10
- “The thing I loved the most was the freedom we got to enjoy the Disneyland fireworks.” – Odile, Year 10
These responses demonstrate the spectacular time the students had on the trip, forming new bonds, seizing new opportunities and making new memories. Every student worked collectively with their team, playing to the best of their ability, and this shone through in our tournament results. Overall, we could not have gone on the trip without our brilliant teachers who not only supported us in our matches, but had fun with us, making the experience unforgettable.