Whitworth Community High School students dream American trip

Whitworth Community High School students at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington

A once in a lifetime trip to America was enjoyed by 40 students from Years 10 and 11 from Whitworth Community High School.

The students toured New York and Washington over 10 days and got to see some amazing sights including the Statue of Liberty and the White House.

Megan Addy, 15, said: “At the 9/11 Memorial we were surprised by how beautiful it actually is. I always wanted to go to America but I didn’t think I would get the chance until after I left school.”

Jessica Turner, 14, said: “I have seen pictures, but you really have to be there to appreciate just how big the World Trade Centre buildings were.

“While we were going round I was really trying to hold back my emotions, and then my teacher asked if I was ok and I just burst into tears; it was really sad.

“We saw someone putting roses next to one of the names and you knew it was someone they had lost; it left us speechless.”

They visited the 9/11 Museum and also scaled the Empire State Building where they got to look out across New York skyline.

Both said it made them appreciate home and the countryside because the buildings in New York were so tall they could hardly see the sky.

They also said they found New York even busier than London with lots of people pushing and shoving.

At Central Park they spotted a busker next to the John Lennon Memorial and he gave students instruments and they joined him in an impromptu jamming session of Beatles songs.

In Washington the students, and five staff, visited the Martin Luther King Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and Korean War Memorial as well as the Capitol Building, the White House and the Holocaust Museum.

They also went to the Vietnam Memorial and one student, Danielle Palmer from Year 11, found the name of her grandmother’s friend on the memorial.

They also got to speak to a Vietnam veteran who brought home the realities of war.

Jessica and Megan said the trip had given them the chance to make friends with students from different years and different classes and it was one they would never forget.