Paris 2018: A trip to remember, for the right reasons

I've said it before, often (probably in the last blog post): school trips are important. These shared experiences can be transformative for students. And staff. And additional others, who tag along just for fun. 

And so it transpired: Paris 2018 was a great adventure for all - 12 St Peter's students (KS5); 2 staff (myself and Sabrina, MFL teacher); and Jon Nicholls (Thomas Tallis School), picked up along the way. This post is a celebration of the event, a record for us mainly, but perhaps also inspiration for others to give it a go, because school trips are important. 

Trips don't always go to plan (our 2015 experience was testament to that), but with two weeks passed - and being certain that everyone came back (I checked again yesterday) - I'm declaring it a success; a perfect balance of inspiration, collaboration and creative hiijinks. Here's how it unfolded...

Rail travel featured prominently: Bournemouth to London, Underground to St Pancras; Eurostar to Paris. It's a great way to travel with students. The journey was long enough to feel like an adventure with enough time and space to mix as a group, and even get started in sketchbooks. With every trip we provide students with an art pack - a fun pack, if you like - which includes an A5 sketchbook, a pencil, a drawing pen, a glue stick, sweets, plus some associated nonsense - playful prompts and activities to get students (and staff) mixing and mucking about.

Following our 3.45pm arrival, and some swift negotiating of the Paris Métro, we were checking in to Hotel Ambassadeur, Montmartre, by late afternoon. For the record, as hotels go - for a school trip, at least - it was fine: a short walk from Guy Môquet station, and the staff were friendly enough, even if the embossed wallpaper had lost a little puff. No matter. A quick freshen up and we were out, cameras ready, taking to the streets for our first dérive, an introductory meander through Montmartre.

The rural village of vineyards and windmills depicted by Van Gogh is long-gone. It's the tourists that are drawn to (and drawn in) Montmartre now. But the place is still dripping with its painterly history. Gaudy and mythologised today, as it was over a century ago when Lautrec postered the streets (and a young Picasso peeled them down for inspiration). Regardless, the busy narrow streets and stage-set cafés provided students with a perfect street photography initiation. ​

Not that we had time to hang around. We were booked in at L'Atelier des Lumières, an 'immersive art experience' hosted in a converted foundry.

It was certainly a spectacle, a vast moving space with every inch playing host to projected pixels. There were two short films, animations of the work of Gustav Klimt and Hundertwasser. Disorientating at times, swirling patterns shifted left, right and centre (and up and down), occasionally interrupted with images of the artists and their histories, a loose historical narrative unfolding to an orchestral soundtrack. Mainly the students pranced and posed within the shifting graphics; clicking away, having a lovely time.

In 2015, when news of the terrorist attacks first broke, Jon and I were with two other staff and a group of 18 students, having dinner in Bouillon Chartier. As events unfolded and the scale of the tragedy (and our immediate responsibilities) dawned  upon us all, we made the call to stay put, eventually departing in the early hours to walk to the hotel. Rather than avoiding those memories we wanted to go back. It's a great restaurant, especially for groups, and it felt right to revisit. And so we did, ever-mindful of our good fortune in comparison to others. It was a positive thing to do.

Then, to finish a wonderful first evening, we embarked on a late night walk to Place de l'Opera métro station, mainly to ensure that the last reserves of energies were spent - always a shrewd move if leading a 6th form residential. It did the job. An undisturbed night ensued.

Saturday morning, after an early hotel breakfast we were back on the métro to l'Opera. It was time for students to take on a challenge: to get lost (and hopefully re-find their way), and to document the experience through photography. In unlikely pairings, students were dismissed in different directions with instructions to meet at Musée d'Orsay for 10.am - apart from Joss and Nancy, who set off to complete their own pre-planned fashion shoot.

Eventually - predictably a little late (but all accounted for) - we reunited for the delights of Musée d'Orsay. This time students set out to work independently, a concentrated period with their sketchbooks amidst a remarkable collection of work. For me at least, it was the Vuillard paintings that caught me unaware. With the benefit of close scrutiny these were remarkable - rich in understated gestures; suggestive of the growing influence of photography; anticipating of abstraction. I was absolutely taken with a new respect for the Nabis artists, prophets of an emerging modern art. 

Then, the main event: Paris Photo 2018. We grabbed a quick lunch on the move to the Grand Palais, navigating the diversions courtesy of all the world leaders in town. But we had more important people to mingle with, and Paris Photo didn't disappoint. We'd only been there a minute when legendary French film director Agnes Varda wandered by. Steps later, we encountered Joel Meyerowitz. It was that kind of afternoon. Regardless, photobooks and photographs were everywhere. We needed to get busy: this was the world's biggest photography fair. 

Three hours later, feasted, we needed to move on. We still had the Pompidou Centre to escalate. I'd promised a view of the Eiffel Tower at night, and within our tight itinerary that seemed the best option. Plus - obviously - it's full of art - everyone still wanted more, right?

A busy metro, a rainy walk, and a slow queue later, we were in and rising. The view was a little compromised, what with the rain and top floor renovations, but it didn't matter; everyone was having a great time. We made the most of 45 minutes in the gallery, and argued about Cy Twombly. 

A walk via Notre Dame led us over the river to the Latin Quarter. Pizza was top of the emergency priorities and we did well to find a quiet restaurant and set about disrupting it. Eventually, by the time we'd eaten, it was borderline bedtime for all. It had been a massive day. The students were exhausted. Thankfully Jon, confident of a short route to the metro via Montparnasse, took the lead. Let's just say by the time we crept into the hotel, everyone slept very well.

Sunday, a little time to pack up prior to heading out for the day - we'd grab that luggage later; a busy morning awaited. After a team briefing within the context of being Remembrance Day, we headed out for a group reflection. Literally. A chance to work together, experimenting with mirrors, and appreciating our freedoms to do so.

Our main destination was La Maison Eurpopéenne de la Photographie (MEP), originally an 18th Century hotel, now a major centre for contemporary photography. Newly renovated, the gallery was hosting a retrospective by French street artist and photographer, JR. 

It was a perfect choice. Students wandered with jaws dropped, spontaneously muttering "This is cool". And it was. Diverse, ambitious, playful and socially aware: JR is a young artist/photographer sticking his neck out to make a difference.  My own preconceptions adjusted (as with Vuillard the day before), I settled to absorb his recent 'Guns in America' TIME magazine commission. It made for mesmerising viewing.

But the clock was ticking, and we wanted to complete one more practical exercise before heading back. We made our way to Place des Vosges, Marais, the oldest planned square in Paris, for further reflection.

And then it was time to retrace our steps - Hotel, métro, Eurostar; St Pancras. The journey back was really enjoyable, lots of laughs; a tangible sense that we were all closer for the adventure. We'd certainly filled our time and, despite the all-round exhaustion, there was excited talk of new projects and collaborations. 

Two weeks later and some of this work has already come to fruition: Year 12 photography students have collaborated with Sabrina's GCSE French class; students on the trip are hosting an exhibition of their experiences this week - to include images, installations, sound recordings, trip sketchbooks and poetry. In addition, to the students delight - unexpectedly - they received a parcel in the post after only a few days: a photobook each, courtesy of (and by) Jon, a 'thank-you' for being such good company. A typically kind gesture, and a beautiful book - Things I'd Love to Say in French - very appreciated by all. 

To Jon, Sabrina and all the students: Great job team! THANK YOU for all your enthusiasm, energy and good humour - definitely have to do that again. School trips are important.