European Parliament Ambassador Schools representing the UK, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia were selected to attend this transnational event from 15th – 18th October, in Warsaw. Having been an active member of this programme since 2023, Clyst Vale was thrilled to receive an invitation.
Our delegation consisted of five Y13 students: Darcy, Liv, Mimi, Rebekah and Martha, accompanied by Mrs Roberts and Mrs Voysey. Some travel delays on the Wednesday, leading to narrowly missed connecting flight from Amsterdam, meant that we arrived late at our hotel around 11pm. However, following breakfast on Thursday morning the group made up for lost time by throwing themselves into the ‘Getting to Know You’ bingo game! Liv was laser-focussed and one of the first delegates to achieve a ‘full house’.
Liv addressing the conference
Dariusz Skotarek of the University of Warsaw gave a really entertaining presentation on Polish culture, including an insight into various eminent Polish nationals, such as composer Chopin (whose heart rests in the Holy Cross Church in Warsaw, smuggled back from France by his sister according to his dying wishes – despite his other remains being buried in Paris). We also discovered that Warsaw local genius Marie Curie is the only person ever to have won Nobel prizes in two scientific fields: Chemistry and Physics.
Warsaw old town
Burial site of the heart of Chopin
(inside the Holy Cross Church)
The programme for the rest of the day included a panel discussion, an opportunity to grill MEP Anna Zalewska (former Minister for Education, who did not seem politically popular with Polish teachers in the room!) on a variety of issues – and then the group was split after lunch to participate in a carousel of workshops. Students attended sessions on a selection of the following topics: Disinformation; Zero Waste; European Security; The Baltic Sea; Communication and the ‘Europa Experience role play game’. Teachers had a narrower selection of events, ranging from Ensuring a Diversity of Views; Empowering Teachers/ Inspiring Students to ‘EU4Health’.
Dinner that night at a traditional Polish restaurant in the beautiful old quarter of the city comprised 3 courses, with hearty menu items including sourdough, cabbage or beetroot soups, goulash, dumplings, pork chops – with even more dumplings appearing in the dessert section (or alternatively huge helpings of apple pie). We literally could not eat another forkful by the time we left!
Friday brought more workshops in the morning, continuing the previous day’s carousels, then an exciting trip out to the massive Palace of Culture and Science, where we viewed the city from the observation tower on the 30th floor! The building is a somewhat contentious skyscraper (standing at 237 metres it’s the 2nd highest building in the whole of Poland) having been built in Warsaw in 1952 as a gift from Russia, and initially dedicated to Joseph Stalin. It houses many public and commercial institutions, not least a University and a swimming pool, as well as a concert hall and several theatres and cinemas. (After Stalin’s death all references to his name were removed from the building, as part of a broader destalinization movement.)
The view from the top
Viewing terrace on the 30th floor
The Palace of Culture & Science
After lunch it was time to review and reflect on the conference as a whole. The 150 or so student delegates were split across a dozen transnational groups, where they came together to talk about their key takeaways from the experience, and to make recommendations on how to promote the work of EPAS further. The Clyst Vale team was so proud of Liv, who stood up with the microphone to eloquently address the whole conference on behalf of her group, explaining their perceptive thoughts and ideas.
The absolute highlight for the students was Friday night’s Silent Disco, held in the European Parliament’s Europe House. Our group found it almost impossible to contain their excitement as the start time drew near. At 7.15pm, all schools came together to (quietly) dance the night away – although their own singalong to classics such as Dancing Queen were most definitely audible!
After breakfast on Saturday we started to make tracks back towards the UK. Upon arrival at Schiphol airport, following yet more delays on the first leg of our flight, to make our connection back to Exeter we were faced with a rather unprepared-for sprint (with luggage) from one end of the airport to the other. Less than 20 minutes to disembark one flight, negotiate passport control and find a far-flung, distant gate perhaps felt a challenge too far – but luckily we just about made it, puffing slightly, with minutes to spare.
Across all 4 days, the attitude and behaviour of our Y13 students was exemplary, as every aspect of the visit was approached with a perfect mix of open-mindedness, curiosity and enthusiasm. With some students ranking the trip as 10/10, our experience of the EPAS Transnational Event was overwhelmingly positive.
Martha, Darcy, Mimi, Rebekah & Liv
Students commented:
“The trip was an amazing opportunity to learn more about the world, as well as speak to those from different countries and learn about their own cultures. I also thought Warsaw was a beautiful city with many historical landmarks that I enjoyed seeing.” – Darcy
“The trip was incredibly interesting and enriching. I am so grateful for the opportunity to meet students from different countries, try new cuisines, and become educated on the EU’s role and influence. The city had beautiful architecture and the event was very well run- I particularly enjoyed the silent disco!” ~ Rebekah
“I found the trip very interesting to learn about different countries’ cultures and languages. I also thought that Warsaw was a very architectural city with many unique monuments.” ~ Mimi
We hope that the friendships and memories our students made will remain with them for many, many years to come! To echo the rather tongue-in-cheek words we were all encouraged to shout during the group photocall – “EPAS forever!”
EPAS Team Comment
Thank you for an excellent write-up, and great to see that it is being shared so widely with your school community. It sounds like the travel was a real trial, but we are very glad that the trip was worth it. It sounds like your students really made the most of it!