During the October half-term, Matthew Childs, Subject Leader for Geography and Lead Teaching and Learning Practitioner at Stanley Park High School, travelled to Jordan for six days. The purpose of the trip, which was run by The School Adventure Company, was to see whether the country is suitable as a destination for school trips in the future.
As Childs explained, is bordered by Iraq, Israel and Syria, countries which are currently involved in conflict (the current situation with Syria regarding the Islamic state being particularly unstable) therefore Jordan is perceived as place that is dangerous and unsafe to travel to. However, Childs described Jordan as a ‘safe country’ explaining, ‘I would definitely consider running a school trip there,’ despite negative press coverage which you’d think would be enough a deterrent from travelling to this region in the Middle East.
The six day trip started in Amman, the capital city of Jordan. Mr Childs was able to experience the country’s urban atmosphere and modern culture first-hand. Childs explained how ‘English and Arabic are the two main languages in Jordan. English is one of those because the king’s mother is English.’ This makes Jordan an ideal destination for UK tourists because the local currency and sign posts are printed in English.
The rest of the six days were spent travelling south from the countries capital. This first half of the trip mainly focusing on religious studies. Childs visited the burial site of biblical figure Moses at Mount Nebu, the river Jordan where Jesus was baptised and the crusader castle at Kerak, a significant historic building involved in the 12th century holy wars, before finally stopping at Petra.
Childs describes Petra destination as a ‘very old ancient civilisation. Only 20% of it has been excavated whilst 80% of it is still under ground. It takes a good 3 or 4 hours to walk around it.’ Petra is an archaeological site which is protected and preserved by the UNESCO world heritage centre. Scenes from Hollywood blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were also shot in the ‘lost city’ of Petra where major excavations only begun in 1929.
The penultimate destination for the trip was to the Dead Sea, a sea which is believed to be 8.6 times more salty than the average sea or ocean. The high salt concentration means people can float in the water rather than sink. After an overnight camp in Wadi Rum, the desert area of Jordan, the inspirational trip came to an end.
Mr Childs said he would consider running a trip to Jordan with Stanley Park High School. ‘Originally my concern was trying to convince parents and the school that it is safe. But now that I’ve been there and thoroughly risk assessed it, Jordan will be a definite possibility for a school trip.’
Ronnie Bushby, Stanley Park High School
