After much anticipation following a summer of intense US election campaigning, sixteen Pangbourne students in Years 10-13 departed for Washington D.C. on Sunday 27th October. One of the great opportunities of working with this group was the range of students involved. Some were taking US politics as a core module of their A Level Politics course, some were taking GCSE History which covers a range of aspects of American history and others simply had a general interest in the USA. This meant planning an itinerary that had a careful balance of fascinating sites that truly broadened historical and political knowledge, cultural activities and opportunities to experience both independence and exploration.
After a long outbound flight, we landed at Washington Dulles Airport not long before sunset and then boarded the city's metro system. The metro journey had stunning views of the city skyline and after about 45 minutes, we arrived at our final stop, Dupont Circle. After a short walk to our hotel, we checked in at 7.45pm. After a long day's travelling, it was difficult to plan exactly how the students' appetite would be, but they made light work of the Mexican buffet of burritos, tacos and quesadillas. In true American style, this prompted an impromptu order of quite a few additional portions of fries for the group!
Monday's itinerary was very much focused on seeing the main political and historical sites in Washington D.C. We hopped straight onto the metro at 9.00am to the nearest station to the National Mall, Smithsonian. The students saw the Washington memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the World War II memorial and Vietnam Memorial. Surrounding the National Mall are the most stunning government buildings, where I discussed with the students the sheer size of American government that is reflected in these. After enjoying free time exploring, we walked past the White House, only to find it completely obscured by security fencing! Kamala Harris was due to hold a rally on The Ellipse, the park just to the south, on the following evening. As it was early in the trip, we would find time to see the White House later on in the week when the pupils would go to the observation deck of the Washington Monument. After this, we all enjoyed another cultural highlight of the United States, Dunkin Donuts! That then took us to the afternoon, where we enjoyed a guided tour of the US Capitol building and the stunning Rotunda. We were also very fortunate to be able to obtain gallery passes to both the Senate and the House of Representatives, which allowed interesting comparisons with the US Congress and the British Parliament.
On Tuesday, we made our way up Connecticut Ave to Adams Morgan, which is where the Smithsonian Zoo is located. Adams Morgan is well known for its arts culture and there were some stunning Halloween decorations on the houses. Students had the entire morning to explore the Zoo and all the incredible wildlife. Afterwards, it was back to the metro and towards central D.C. to visit the Smithsonian Museum of American History. This is a stunning museum with such a range of wonderful, modern exhibits of all aspects of American history. In the evening, we went to the Capitol One Arena to watch the Washington Capitals play the New York Rangers in the NHL (ice hockey). It was a fantastic game that was full of drama from the start, the atmosphere was electric! Quite a few students returned with 'Caps' merchandise!
Wednesday's itinerary saw the group travel to the high-tech Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, which contains everything from the Wright Flyer to the USS Enterprise! In the afternoon, I was keen to show the students what American universities were like. We visited two, George Washington University (GWU) and Georgetown University. At GWU, we were greeted by Yibo, an Old Pangbournian (2024) who is in his Freshman year, where he answered lots of our questions about university life! The students spent the afternoon exploring the stunning Georgetown area of D.C., including the beautiful university campus. In the evening, we stayed in Georgetown for an American buffet meal, bocce and bowling!
During the trip, I was keen to show the students the vast countryside of the USA without venturing too far from the capital. Mount Vernon - the home of George Washington - was an ideal opportunity for students to experience both history and the stunning countryside and views across the Potomac River. We were very lucky that we had glorious sunshine across the entire week. It takes about an hour and 10 minutes to get to Mount Vernon from central D.C. and the bus ride through Fairfax County, Virginia, was a good opportunity for students to see typical suburban American homes and the election flyers outside the houses. After the previous two later evenings, the students enjoyed a quiet evening in the hotel before the final day.
The last day saw the group return one final time to the National Mall, but this time to scale the stunning Washington Monument. The students took some incredible pictures of the landscape around D.C. - which includes the now unobscured White House! Before enjoying some free time to explore the stunning memorials and monuments along the wall. We had an American-style lunch from the best sandwich shop I could find in D.C. - where the sandwiches were as overfilled as possible! But it was now time to begin the journey home after a wonderful week in Washington D.C. and enjoyed the final train ride to the airport with the sun going down on the city.
The College's first trip to Washington D.C. really was incredible. We were fortunate in several ways, most significantly the time in which they were going. The students were immersed in the election, from billboards outside people's homes to flyers on lamp posts, it was very visible to see. Not only that, but the weather had been stunning all week, the last day being 27C! And finally, anyone considering visiting D.C. should definitely consider the autumn. The autumn colours are stunning across the city and countryside and it is the tourist low season, which made accessing all the sites very easy and straightforward!
We are no doubt in historic times in the USA and it was a pleasure and privilege to help our group of 16 students experience the history, beauty and culture of Washington D.C.
- Anthony Hammond, Teacher of History and Politics
