From the 28th February to the 14th March we (7C) and our English teacher Mrs Putz had a lovely stay in England. At first we spent a few days in the British capital, London. After having got an impression of Europe's largest city, we continued our travel to Stowe School.
Stowe School is an independent boarding school in the heart of the English countryside near the famous formula-one circuit at Silverstone. The historic house and magnificent landscape gardens and park provide Stowe with a unique atmosphere.
Right after our arrival we were all put into one of the ten boarding houses. Each house is the home of around fifty very different individuals who learn to respect and live with one another under the direction and encouragement of a Housemaster or Housemistress and their families. House Matrons and Under-Housemasters or -mistresses also live in.
Naturally we were quite afraid of staying alone in a totally new environment. However, our fears were unfounded. We were given a very warm welcome, and our English friends showed us around the large area and helped us whenever they could.
In the mornings we went to lessons which we had chosen back in Austria. Everyone of us attended four different subjects, not even the English students have to attend more. This is quite a difference compared with the fifteen subjects we have to take in Vienna.
Lunch was not much better than in Theresianum, but one advantage was that we could choose between several meals as well as the very nice salad buffet. As a desert there were ice cream or cake after every meal.
In the afternoons we used the numerous facilities the chool provided to do almost any kind of sport (e.g. claypigeon shooting, rugby or golf). Two of us even went skiing to a ski-hall in a nearby city. During our stay we also visited several of southern England's most beatiful places, e.g. Cambridge, Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Stonehenge, Avebury and Bath.
The two weeks slipped away really fast and saying goodbye was quite hard. All of us were very satisfied with this journey, and we hope to see our new friends from England again soon.