Hot, tropical conditions, fascinating history and day after day of exciting new experiences are just some of the wonders that greeted 30 IWEF students on their once-in-a-lifetime trip to Vietnam last week.

Students from Carisbrooke College, Medina College and the Island VI Form, all part of the Isle of Wight Education Federation, spent ten days travelling from North Vietnam to the South via key locations in the central regions. Some of the highlights included visiting the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, exploring the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and the 17th Parallel, journeying up the Mekong river while avoiding snakes and giant spiders and spending a night with a local family deep in the rainforest.

Joe Briscoe, trip leader and Mandarin teacher said: “To visit these places by yourself is one thing, but to undertake such an adventure with 30 eager and attentive young people behind you who are all willing to push themselves outside of their comfort zone and run towards scary new experiences, brings a whole different level of satisfaction as a teacher. We certainly encountered both the weird and the wonderful out there and I’m certain that as a result every student will have grown in countless ways.”

Lewis Chambers, 14, said: “Going to Vietnam taught me so many things, but the most important thing that it taught me was to try something new, no matter how nervous you may be”.

Amelia Strickland, 15, said: “This trip has made me a lot more adventurous in many different ways. For example I tried food I wouldn’t have been able to try here and I now have the courage to go to other places like this. I have learned so much about how the Vietnamese honour their dead. They use incense as they believe that when the smoke reaches the sky it connects them to those in heaven.”

While the adventurous aspects of the trip were fun, there was a very serious point behind it. Joe Briscoe said: “Interacting with the people of Vietnam and talking to them about their experiences during the war was a real eye-opener and, as students walked around the War Remnants museum in Saigon, you could see the shocking reality of the war hit home to them.”

We are so proud of the young people who went on this trip. They showed maturity beyond their years and grew in confidence each and every day. Our thanks go to Mr Briscoe, Mr Burnett, Miss Bracegirdle and Miss Lee for accompanying the students and for planning the trip meticulously, assessing for every eventuality. In giving up their time and taking on such a responsibility, they brought history lessons to life and enabled these students to make memories that will stay with them forever.