Central Park, Times Square and the Statue of Liberty were just three of the iconic landmarks that students visited during their New York City trip during the October half-term, writes Mr G Jones.
With a focus on art and design and technology, this cultural experience was designed to enable students to fully embrace the life of a New Yorker for three days, viewing and interacting with some of the world’s most famous art and design work, and immersing themselves in the culture of one of the busiest cities in the world.
Flying direct from Manchester, and staying in a hotel on Times Square, students were soon surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells of the city.
On Day 1 we visited the world-renowned Guggenheim Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. A walk through Central Park at Golden Hour and dinner at Planet Hollywood ended a memorable first day.
Golden Hour offers soft, warm light — perfect for photography, walks or simply enjoying the atmosphere. It occurs just after sunrise and just before sunset every day.
Saturday saw the group head south down Manhattan on the subway to Battery Park and the ferry to Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty.
A tour of the island and the immigration museum on Ellis Island was followed by a visit to the 9/11 memorial pools – two pools, each nearly an acre in size, that sit in the footprints of the former Twin Towers of the World Trade Center site.
There was also time to visit the ‘Ghostbusters’ firehouse, where the exterior scenes of the firehouse in the iconic 1980s film were shot.
Our final day was spent visiting ‘Top of the Rock’ and shopping on Fifth and Sixth Avenue, purchasing gifts and souvenirs for family and friends.
New York is a vibrant and busy city that stimulates all of your senses, and the group fully embraced the experiences on offer. The students that travelled with us were an absolute credit to the school and their conduct was exemplary throughout.
Each and every one of them will have brought home their own special memories from the trip and will doubtless be talking about their ‘school trip to New York’ for the rest of their lives.
Plans are already afoot to run a similar trip in autumn 2027 for students in the current years 7 and 8. More details will be available early in the new year.
You can see lots of great photos in Issue 45 (November/December 2025) of Ridgeway New Times. Just click the link below.
