Year 8 Medieval Journey

Towards the end of the school year, Year 8 are invited to take part in a 'Medieval' style journey. Students dress up as pilgrims from all walks of life and by using public transport we follow part of the old pilgrimage route across Switzerland. The trip allows students to explore the importance of travel, trade, situation and religion on life in the Middle Ages. Throughout the two day trip the students will visit the following sites:

Lausanne Cathedral
Chateau de Chillon
Abbaye de St.Maurice
Grotte aux Fees
Salt mines at Bex

Day one starts early with us meeting at Cornavin train station in Geneva. No need to worry about not being able to find us as we will all be dressed as medieval pilgrims! The first stop on our journey is at Lausanne Cathedral, where we explore the importance of the site and study the famous rose glass window. Some may take the long walk up the tower to see the amazing views over the town. From there we head to Chateau de Chillon to look at medieval castle architecture and learn about the geographical and medieval history of our host country in the 'arc lemanique' region. Our final stop is St. Maurice where we will stay overnight. While in St.Maurice we visit the Grotte aux Fees to explore the natural landscape of the area. The caves give us a good look into the dramatic landscape that limestone environments can produce. After dinner we play a number of team games including ropes exercises and building a 'human' bridge to foster communication skills. To calm things down before bedtime a short quiz about the day will take place. Students be observant!

The second day starts with a tour of the Abbaye de St.Maurice site and its unique treasures, some of which date back to Roman times and to the period of Charlemagne. From there we travel by coach to the salt mines at Bex. These mines were originally used by the Romans and are still being excavated today. We travel by train deep into the mines to experience what it was like in the early days of mining. We finish the day with the obligatory ice cream before we catch the train back to Geneva.

The trip includes an evening meal, breakfast and picnic lunch provided by the monastery.

Next Trip

Group A - Mr. Coates and Mrs. Davison Groups - 27th-28th May 2020

Group B - Ms. Mart’s and Madame Moenne’s Groups - 28th-29th May 2020

Information Letter

Permission Form

Photos from 2019

Photos from 2018

Photos from 2017

Photos from 2016

Story Map Journals

After the trip the students recorded their journey in ESRI story map journals. The students marked on the map the route that we took, described what the sites looked like and related the places visited to the medieval era. Examples of their journals and what they thought of the trip can be found below:

2018

2016

Arathi Anand

Amy Denton

Svend Sorensen