Friday 23^rd November 2012

After two days of heavy rain and flood warnings, we had prepared ourselves for the worst on our annual trip to London but to our amazement and delight we had an absolutely glorious day of Autumn sunshine. Students arrived cameras in hand, prepared to take lots of photos for their ‘Viewpoints’ coursework portfolios. As we arrived at the London Eye, the clouds parted and by the time we had reached the summit, we were blessed with sunshine and clear views.

After a walk along the South Bank, we arrived at the National Gallery for ‘Seduced by Art’,  

the National Gallery’s first major exhibition of photography. This made superb links between artists from different eras. There was also some time to look around the main galleries and for some students to visit the National Portrait Gallery.

After more photo opportunities and a slight detour due to a protester on Horseguards Parade, we arrived at the Tate Britain for a fantastic exhibition of the Pre-Raphelites and the perpetually controversial Turner Prize.  The art work presented in these distinctly different exhibitions provoked a mixture of excitement and debate amongst a number of the students and the teachers!

We then caught the boat to Bankside, where we had a well deserved dinner and a chance to take some beautiful photos of London at night, followed by an evening visit to the Tate Modern. Everyone agreed that it was a fantastic learning experience and a lot of fun.