During the October half term, Durston House took 30 Year 7 and 8 boys to Salou in Spain for our bi-annual Football and Rugby Tour. It was an amazing week, filled with sightseeing, theme park rides, swimming, going to the beach and, of course, Football and Rugby. The boys had a thoroughly enjoyable time and represented the school brilliantly.

Riaan in 8J, reports…

“We got up early on Sunday morning to leave for the airport, we arrived and had one hour to spend for food and snacks for the trip. We flew over to Barcelona airport and then travelled to our hotel in Salou. We settle down in our rooms and enjoyed some free time with our peers, we went for dinner at the hotel, which consisted of a buffet with many continental cuisines. We then again had free time in the evening to have fun in our rooms and enjoy the time we had.

We woke up on Monday morning and proceeded for breakfast at the hotel. Then we transferred to Port Aventura Theme Park which was not far from Salou. This was one of the highlights of the trip as the rides were thrilling and we had an enjoyable and memorable experience. Our Football teams left from Port Aventura to our first football fixture, we lost but we learnt a lot and were fortunate enough to play on beautiful grounds while we were there. We arrived back at the hotel followed by a Quiz Night where different schools staying at the hotel participated.

On Tuesday morning we woke up slightly later and cherished free time at the hotel, we made our way to the beach where we played beach football and some of us went for a swim in the Spanish waters. We also got the chance to visit the hotel swimming pool which was very nice. In the afternoon we went for a rugby training session with the local rugby club. We returned to our hotel for dinner and a karaoke night.

We woke up early on Wednesday morning for breakfast at the hotel, we travelled to our football training session which was very fun and we played and learnt many new warm-ups and games. We then had a Masterclass football tournament with another school, we placed second yet we had an amazing experience. After this, we ended the day with a Rugby fixture and dinner at the rugby club. We departed from the club and arrived back at the hotel for the Masterclass Disco.

On Thursday morning we had breakfast and checked out of the hotel. We drove to Barcelona with the stunning Spanish landscape in the view. When arriving in Barcelona we entered the Camp Nou Stadium, the stadium of Barcelona F.C. – it was incredible! The stadium was huge and the unbelievable aura was breath-taking, we even got the chance to visit the stadium shop and buy what we liked within a certain budget. We then walked along the Barcelona streets with many stalls and small shops, we were on our way to the Hard Rock Café. The food was amazing and we all had a great time. We arrived at Barcelona airport where we boarded our flight to London Gatwick. We went by coach back to Ealing where we were collected by our parents. An enjoyable experience was had by all!”

Riaan, Year 8 pupil