This Easter three different sets of Hurtwood students headed off for adventures abroad. The English department took an intrepid group to New Orleans on a journey of literary discovery unlike any other. Following in the footsteps of Faulkner, Williams, Capote and Hemmingway, they explored the vibrant city streets, went on literary tours, went to the theatre, attended a bespoke director’s workshop with the Tennessee Williams Theatre Company and ate at Galatoire’s, one of the finest restaurants in town. All of this was from the vantage point of a hotel on the corner of the atmospheric French Quarter, just around the corner from the buzzing Bourbon Street. They took inspiration from the rich cultural heritage of New Orleans, a place that thrives on its history. Our students got the full experience, joining the dots between Louisiana’s French and Spanish colonial past, as well as its on-going reputation as ‘The Big Easy’, or as Williams puts it, an ‘easy intermingling’ of people from all walks of life. Students enjoyed a dinner aboard the steamboat Natchez and some of the best music in town from the trad jazz players of Preservation Hall, as well as a visit to the sobering Hurricane Katrina exhibit and America’s National World War II Museum. They discovered the reason why a whole generation of American writers honed their skills amongst the rattle-trap streetcars and clamour of New Orleans – it’s a modern bohemia where creatives of all stripes and colours co-exist.

Meanwhile our Drama students visited Greece starting in Athens with a visit to the Acropolis and the Theatre of Dionysus, where Antigone was first performed. Having been immersed in Ancient History, the students enjoyed mask-making workshops and exploring the Agora to discover its role in Athenian life. After Athens, they travelled to Nafplio in the Peloponnese, via the Corinth Canal and Epidaurus, home to the best-preserved ancient Greek amphitheatre. There, two students performed a powerful Antigone scene, showcasing the theatre’s remarkable acoustics. At Mycenae, students explored the delights of Agamemnon’s palace and tomb. A creative treasure hunt of Nafplio followed, which included performing choral odes from Antigone. The final evening’s celebration meal included a tongue in cheek awards ceremony including: Most Creative, Most Tragic, Most Comedic and even a BAFTA nod.

Not to be outdone our Business and Economics students went to New York to discover the buzz of Wall Street, home to the New York Stock Exchange, leading banks and other major financial institutions. They participated in a workshop with Zara Brownless, a former Hurtwood student who works as a top researcher at Google's new headquarters on 9th Avenue. (Zara recently came back to Hurtwood for a podcast on her hugely successful career which is episode 2 of Hurtwood: Beyond the Hill.) The trip’s highlights included tours of the United Nations Building and the iconic Madison Square Garden, Central Park in downtown Manhattan and the bright lights of Times Square. Having visited the Statue of Liberty, as this was a Hurtwood trip, time was found to take in the ‘Stranger Things’ musical on Broadway!