A Tutor's View

You must be mad! These, to be perfectly honest, were my first thoughts when my mind registered that I had just said yes to helping to accompany a group of students on a study visit to Disneyland Paris. Before those of you reading this who know me think well you are mad, anyway (too late probably!), let me explain a little! Thoughts ran wildly through my head like great big wild runny things. Images of lost passports, mislaid money, roller coasters going off the rails and plunging us all, limbs flaying, to an early demise, French Accident & Emergency departments at dawn – all that and more!

A candid shot of Lewisham College at the time we had to leave. Yes, it was a little dark!

I think the furthest away I had been on a study visit with Lewisham College before had been Brighton so the thought of going to France for three days was a little disconcerting. I needn’t have worried! I have actually had more go wrong during a ninety minute class (much, much more!) than happened during the entire seventy two hours we were away!

The first moment I realized that things were going to be OK was when our students sorted out the other College with which we were travelling. To put it bluntly, several of their students had a ‘Prince Harry Moment’ – if you know what I mean! Rather than this resulting in all out bus warfare, a kind of Armageddon on wheels, our students treated the incident with maturity and articulacy with the result that peace broke out before war was declared - and they had helped educate a number of young people about how to speak about people who may not look the same as you! It was really heartening to see them deal with a potentially explosive situation so rationally and calmly.

It's the West - the wild wild west! Jane takes in her new surroundings!

On arrival we soon realised that the hotel we were staying in had a Western motif. I had sat through (possibly) thousands of John Wayne films with my father and my first thought was that he would have been in his element in this place and enjoyed it much more than me!

Daniel and Shahul, ready for some Disney action!

The enthusiasm of our students won the day and I very quickly began to enjoy our environment! With everyone settled in their rooms we had a quick decision to make. There were several hours between our checking in and the meal and first lecture of the day. What should we do? Hit the Park?! Oh yes!

The wheels on the bus go round and round. Or, if you are from Lewisham College and it's your first trip to the theme park, round and round and round and round - oh - and round!

You can take the folks out of Lewisham, but can you take Lewisham out of the folks? We boarded the bus to the theme park, expecting quite a long journey. We got to the first stop and blithely remained in our seats - after all we are used to buses taking forever to get anywhere in London! It was only when the bus turned and we noticed the rides that we realized that the park had been in front of us all the time and we were on our way back to the hotel. Ooops! Fortunately, the bus took very little time to get back and, well, get back as it were!

With a joy approaching hysteria, Tascha and Robert realise that they don't have to do any teaching for three days!

The first lecture was that very evening. The huge cinema used for the event made the four hundred or so students sitting in the auditorium look like a small group! I have to admit that I rested my eyes for about five minutes during that first lecture – whatever Tascha and Paul say, I was not asleep! It was a hugely interesting take on the park and the rides from the perspective of IT. After its conclusion we worried a little as all tutors on the Higher Diploma were called down to the front. We were told – to our surprise – that the next morning’s lecture had only been booked by two groups. That was Lewisham College and one other – and that the other group had dropped out, opting for the theme park instead!

The organizers insisted they were ready and din't mind performing for one group, so the next morning it was only our Lewisham College students who attended the lecture. I felt a pang of guilt because, after all, all of the other young people on this study trip were already howling their way up the Tower of Terror or screaming their lungs out on Space Mountain, while ours were stuck in a learning environment! I anticipated some grumbling about that at the very least!

On the stage, the auditions for the third film in the Twenty Eight Days Later trilogy were going quite well!

Again, maybe I worry too much! OK, there is no maybe about that! The initial feedback on this session was by far the best of the three lectures we attended. It was obvious that the organizers had pulled out all the stops when it came to putting the ‘show’ together and, in terms of our mantra at Lewisham (Communication Skills! Communication Skills! Communication Skills!), this fitted in perfectly. Plus we got to do what NONE of the other groups did - and that was get up on the stage and have a group picture taken! Say fromage!

Twenty one people, funny money, limited French.... Lovin' It? Well, yes, actually!

After this lecture we were already hungry – with eight hours to go to the evening meal! So, we all decamped to the nearby McDonalds. Placing twenty one orders was going to be a challenge for my rusty A’Level French! Fortunately, one of the McDonalds staff had seen us outside, writing down what everyone was having and when we got in there she took the order and sorted everything out for us! Considering the previous lecture had emphasized the importance of service to a place like Disneyland, this was a perfect demonstration of how IT and human interaction can make something that, on paper seems difficult if not impossible to get right, quite a smooth transaction.

My car! My Car! MY CAR!!! Paul wants a new vehicle!

Post McDonalds, it was off to the park and our various (but not ‘final’) destinations! The place was truly enormous and it was to my continual surprise that we kept bumping in to people from the group. The rides were great but I have to admit that my own personal favourite was the pageant at four o'clock. The site of all my childhood favourites dancing through the streets choked me up a little! Fortunately, at that point there were no students in the near vicinity to poke fun at the old uns getting all sentimental! The day was wonderful and I assumed that by the time the students had had their fun at the park that they would have their evening meal and surely be ready for bed!

If there was a crime that took place, it was what Kerrie and Daniella did to Felix's hair!

Not! Taking our continual exhortation to heart (‘make the most of your short time here!’) the bulk of the students stayed up all night, chilling (as I believe the yoof of today refer to time spent chatting with each other in an informal manner!) altogether in a single room. I have to say here, that the behavior and general decorum of the Lewisham Lot put most of the other students staying at the hotel to shame.

A number of teachers were pacing the corridor all night making sure that their students were behaving. They must have wished that they were Bagpuss, no doubt! We had none of those issues whatsoever! Guys, you were fantastic!

Group Hug! Group Hug!

As tutors, we also got to have two of the longest and most unusual course team meetings ever!

So, If Shahul is Tarzan and Jane is, well, Jane - what does that make Tascha?!?

And so home to Dear Old Blighty the next morning. Safe to say, most of us were bleary eyed and sleepy (if not unconscious!) but that led to a quiet journey! My memories of this study trip are overwhelmingly positive. A lot was learned and people (students and staff) had a great deal of fun in to the bargain. Plus we missed the first day of the OFSTED inspection – what more can you ask? Well, can I ask this?

Can we do it again next week? Please? PLEASE?