Reach Cambridge July 2016: Day 14

Today was the last excursion of the program, so all of the students travelled to London one final time. The group split into two trips – some of the students visited Greenwich, before taking a cruise down the River Thames and exploring the Southbank, while the others spent the morning in Tate Modern and the afternoon at The Globe Theatre. For both groups, there was plenty to see. Greenwich is famous for its links with maritime history – there’s the Old Royal Naval College (which some might have recognised from the film Les Miserables), the Cutty Sark (a 19th Century ship) and the Maritime Museum to name just a few key sites. Students also excitedly took selfies with one foot on either side of the Greenwich Meridian Line – this line divided the East and West hemispheres, and “every place on Earth was measured in terms of its distance East or West from this line”. It is also home to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). After exploring Greenwich, students took a cruise along the River Thames, a great sightseeing opportunity that ended at the London Eye on the river’s Southbank. Just further along the river were there classmates, who were excited to see one of Ai Weiwei’s trees in the Tate Modern when we have been living alongside a collection of them in the grounds of Downing College. After a morning exploring the gallery which holds the national collection of modern British art since 1900, as well as international contemporary work, the students made their way to The Globe to watch Macbeth just as audiences would have done in Shakespeare’s day: standing up in the open air. Everyone agree that it was a fabulous, involving production (and many were very excited to spot a Game of Thrones actor in the cast). Once back in Cambridge, many of the students watched the Portugal v France Euro 2016 Final, while others had a more relaxed evening playing boardgames or watching films. Classes will start a little later tomorrow to ensure everyone can have a lie-in after a busy week and begin the final week of the Reach Cambridge July Program feeling relaxed and refreshed! Written by Flossie, Director of Operations