Dear Students
We hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and we wish you a very Happy New Year. Within this issue we have news of recent student trips to London as well as an article about the Scottish tradition of Burns Night – a great opportunity to try traditional British food and drink from the other end of our interesting island!
We love to hear from you, so don’t forget to tell your teacher if you have something to contribute for our next issue, or some of your own pictures to share with us.
Happy reading!
The Editorial Team
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Brighton Trip - Saturday 5th February. 
Travel cost: £7.50 each (when travelling in groups of 4)
Bowling - Thursday 3rd February.
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Student Articles
The Christmas Party by Mohammed from Saudi Arabia
On the last Friday of the term we had a Christmas party. We played games, ate chocolate and sandwiches and drank Pepsi and juice and took pictures. It was nice.
Bath trip – Saturday 22nd January by Aline from Brazil
The trip included a guided walking tour around Bath followed by a visit to the world famous Roman Baths. Aline wrote the following:
Bath is a beautiful and old city situated in the south west of England. The city has a variety of theatres, museums and other cultural places. It has helped to make Bath a very good city for tourism. What more attracts the tourists is the Roman Bath, that is a temple that was built in 60-70AD. The water comes out of the floor with a right temperature of about 45 degrees. A lot of people believe that this water has the power to cure some people with diseases which can’t be cured. The history of this city is undoubtedly fantastic – it’s worth visiting!
Brighton Trip by Mauricio from Brazil
Well, I’m going to tell you about Brighton, a city on the coast of England, which we visited last Sunday 23rd. We arrived there at about 11:30am and went straight to the sea, and once we were there, we noticed that it was really similar to a few Brazilian beaches. After taking a few pictures, we had lunch and then we went to the Pier, which is really big and fun because it really looks like a big amusement park, but unfortunately we couldn’t be there for a long time because we still had to go to the Royal Pavilion and so we did. Once we arrived there, we saw an amazing palace, and of course, we went inside, to see what it was like and it was really worth it, so, after that long and great day, we left Brighton by train and arrived back at Portsmouth at about 7:30pm.
Trip to London by Duaa Alshaikh from Saudi Arabia
Last Saturday we went with Spinnaker College to London. All of the students met in front of the College. One of the students was not from the College; her name was Bashair, she is my friend. We took the train to London to (Waterloo Station) and then we walked to central London around the London Eye. All of us were happy to visit it and took pictures there. We had our lunch at MacDonald’s. The teacher decided to take us to one of the most famous shopping street in the world, called Oxford Street. We really liked that area, it was full of people going and coming holding shopping bags. Before we took the train to come back to Portsmouth, we went to Edgware Road and had a walk there. It was one of the most beautiful tours I have ever had. Thank you Spinnaker College. We wish all the best.
Football Game by Tamiris Berta from Brazil
Last weekend my friends and I went to London to enjoy our time. As we had planned we went to Abbey Road first, where it is very famous due to a record sleeve by The Beatles that was taken there. Everyone loved it because we could take a photo, just like The Beatles did a long time ago.
Then we went to watch a match between Chelsea and Blackburn at Stanford Bridge Stadium. Chelsea scored two goals and it was great because we were rooting for them. In the end of the match everyone left the stadium silently and well organized, which was surprising for us, because in Brazil they would be screaming and cheering out loud.
We came back home by train, it was very tiring because it lasted too long. We finished the day in a pub eating delicious carbonara pasta and drinking beer. It was a fantastic and exhausting day.
Burn’s Night
Robert Burns is a famous 18th Century Scottish poet who was born on the 25th January 1759. Every year, on his birth, Scottish people and Scottish admirers celebrate Burns’ achievements by enjoying some traditional Scottish food and drink. At the start of the evening there is a welcoming speech which usually includes the Selkirk Grace, a Scottish thanksgiving. The main meal is haggis *, a dish made from sheep’s liver, heart and lungs along which is traditionally cooked within the animal’s stomach. It is often noted as having an acquired taste. This meal is enjoyed with a dram (a glass of Scottish Whiskey) followed by cranachan. See our What’s On section for Burn’s Night Events in Portsmouth!
Ed: you have to be really brave to eat this. Sorry, just telling it like it is.
Jokes of the month:
How do you get a Highlander onto the roof?
Tell him the drinks are on the house.
What do you call six weeks of rain in Scotland?
Summer!
When I thought about the evils of drinking in the New Year,
I gave up thinking
‘What’s On?’ - 27th January – 18th February
Portsmouth vs Derby – 5th February
Portsmouth Football Club, Fratton Park
Kick Off 3pm
Contact ticket office for availability and prices: 0844 847 1898.
From £20.
Charles Dickens Birthday Walk– 6th February
The walk commences at the Visitor Information Centre, The Hard
Starts 2.30pm
£3.00 per ticket
Enjoy a guided walk taking you to places where Dickens’ family lived and worked, including extracts from the famous novelist’s work and birthday treats!
Yellow Submarine with the Silver Beatles LIVE! – 9th February
Kings Theatre, Albert Road
£10 per ticket – prices may change on a daily basis
A unique opportunity to watch an animation featuring the four musicians. Purchase a ticket and get to go onboard a real submarine for half price!
Chinese New Year at Gunwharf Quays – 13 February
Gunwharf Quays
Free
Starts at Midday (12pm)
Celebrate Chinese New Year with Lion Dancers, Martial Arts Display, and traditional Chinese folk dancing. Get the opportunity to try something new including Chinese Brush Painting and Calligraphy.
Beaches and Battleships Guided Walk – 20th February
Portsmouth Visitor Information Centre – Clarence Esplanade
Starts at 2.30pm
Price £3 per ticket
Learn more about our naval history. Take a guided stroll and hear stories of the Dreadnought battleships first built in Portsmouth.
"I was learning English and I met a lot of people. The teacher is great. The atmosphere in this school is very friendly and nice."
