In the early hours of Monday morning, 20 students and 3 teachers from St John’s RC High School – including their dedicated History teacher, Dorothy Stewart – embarked on an unforgettable experience that would help shape tomorrow’s historians.
This was Dorothy’s first school history trip with Rayburn, and to kick it off they had our expert History Tour Guide, Trevor Booker, take the group on an informative walking tour of one of the most historically significant cities in Europe; Berlin.
History Tour Guides like Trevor are great for experienced party leaders, but even better for first-time party leaders like Dorothy. With an in-depth knowledge of the group’s destination, sites and period of history, Trevor helped tailor the tour to the students and provided some extra support for Dorothy.
“Trevor was brilliant. At all times he checked we were happy about what we were doing. He accommodated little changes to help make the pupils happy. He was very knowledgeable about Berlin, telling us extra information all the time, which enhanced the tour.”
Dorothy Stewart, St John’s RC High School
“Trevor was brilliant. At all times he checked we were happy about what we were doing. He accommodated little changes to help make the pupils happy. He was very knowledgeable about Berlin, telling us extra information all the time, which enhanced the tour.”
Dorothy Stewart, St John’s RC High School
Following the walking tour, the group paid a visit to the German Historical Museum, Germany’s national historical museum that offers a unique insight into the country’s history. Inside they had access to over 7,000 objects, permanent and temporary exhibitions and a public resource library with around 500,000 photos of German and European history! Other free excursions organised specially by Rayburn for St John’s – and fulfilled through guided tours by Trevor – include:
- German Historical Museum
- German Resistance Memorial Centre
- Memorial to the Murdered Jews
- Potsdamer Platz
- Berlin Wall Memorial
- Palace of Tears
- Berlin Hohenschönhausen Memorial
Other excursions picked out by Dorothy included the East Side Gallery, the Reichstag Building, the former Stasi Prison, Topography of Terror and the DDR Museum – which Dorothy informed us was the students’ favourite part of the whole tour!
The DDR Museum covers a wide range of topics, giving the students an insight into everyday life in former East Germany. The museum encourages visitors to make use of all their senses to interact with the eye-catching displays and information, bringing a sense of reality to the history. Students can take a simulated drive in an original Trabant P601 or simply wander around the authentic reconstruction of a block of flats.
After getting a feel of what life was like for the people of Berlin from 1949-1990, the group was deliberately led to the Berlin Wall Memorial – remembering why life was this way for so many Germans who were cut off from the rest of the city.
“Everything was done to the last detail so we could just go and enjoy the experience. The guide was really informative and he tailored the tour to the young people in front of him, adding in other things to look at as we moved around Berlin.”
“Everything was done to the last detail so we could just go and enjoy the experience. The guide was really informative and he tailored the tour to the young people in front of him, adding in other things to look at as we moved around Berlin.”
We really enjoyed planning this tour for Dorothy, and we hope we can see her soon, along with a new bunch of historians!