The 14-day journey in Cambridge for our boys has come to a very satisfying end. The last day (15 Aug) is the day to pack, bid farewell and go to the airport. But since our two reporters have "retired" after the 14th, who is going to write the final report for this day? 

Don't worry, we still have their leader who might have been waiting for this opportunity to reflect on the learning trip! Let's hear from Miss Angel Leung:

"I am very glad to be the accompanying teacher of the Cambridge Junior Programme this year. This educational and inspiring trip has widened our horizon. 

Learning took place at every moment in this trip. Our boys had intensive lessons every day. It was my pleasure to be able to learn different pedagogical skills by observing the lessons and joining the activities. I was overwhelmed by their  performance at the final presentation. 

The boys also had a chance to have different outings. The most unforgettable one was the visit to the Green Britain Centre. The spectacular views seen from the top of the wind turbine had taken our breath away. 

What also impressed me was the boys’ personal growth that I witnessed in these two weeks. They showed their strong team work to jump over the hurdles together. 

Although the programme has ended, the learning process has not. It is just the beginning of another exploration journey for our boys. When they went to the bookstore, they were completely obsessed with the books which were related to the topics covered in the programme. They were deeply inspired by the scholars and mentors and were thirsty for knowledge! 

Goodbye, Cambridge. Their learning will be continued to dream their big dream!"

Well, thanks Miss Leung for this wonderful account of the journey and thank you to all our YWPS participants for their engagement and impressive performances, especially Elvin Lam and Ronney Chang for having to do their "extra" work for this News Updates section every night in addition to their daily homework! Also, thanks must be given to YOU, who have been following our boys' journey through our words and pictures here.

This marks the official the end of all the activities for the YWPS English Department in 2014-2015. However, you know what? Teachers' meeting start on 17 Aug when the planning for the new term of 2015-2016 has to begin. So, our work never ends!

A happy story surely goes with a happy ending. The last full day (14 Aug) of this study tour is a complete and satisfying stop for all - the incomparable memories, the echoing laughter...The final reports, together with their previous ones in these two weeks from our special agents Elvin and Ronney tell us clearly that their experiences and growths are more than what they could have anticipated.

Elvin Lam:

Today is the last full day spent in Cambridge. In the morning, we took our last lessons in Sawston. 

In the science lesson, almost everyone prepared a presentation about animals' adaptations. The teacher appreciated us and thought our presentations were very good and well prepared. I talked about the adaptations of the teeth of dinosaurs. It was a very nice ending. I gave a present to the teacher as she had been treating me very well. We also gave contacts to each other in order to keep in touch. I also did the same to other teachers. 

In the history lesson, we learned about the life of a sailor in the navy and what problems did they face. 

And in the English lesson, we organized a debate and I am so glad that our group won the debate!

In the afternoon, I packed my luggage roughly and watched the film"Despicable Me 2". We laughed a lot and played football next. We won toughly by 6-5 as the opponent was strong too. But as there was a small shower, some of us fell into mud puddles and got mud all over. So we took a shower afterwards. Then I put on my formal wear and went to have the drink party and dinner. I was very glad to see the arrival of my parents and brother. In the party, I took a lot of pictures with my group mates and classmates and friends. I had a fruit punch for the drink. 

And the dinner bell rang, we went into the dining hall and I was stunned by the way they decorated the high-tables. We had some introduction by the directors and the programme's major characters. We had smoked salmon for the appetizer, chicken, potatoes and carrots for the main course and toffee pudding for desert, the food was very tasty and we enjoyed it until almost 9:00pm when we retired.

This is the last journal entry from me you are reading on my full day in Cambridge. The programme is just a perfect choice to bridge the gap between elementary and secondary. It has been a very precious two weeks and I will never forget this Cambridge Junior Programme❗️

Ronney Chang:

Time flies as the 14 days were gone in a blink - our wonderful trip to Cambridge has already come to an end...

After we had breakfast this morning, we went to have our final lessons at Sawston. We did a debate about zoos and game hunting (my group was the negative team) for English; we did a presentation about evolution and adaptation for science; and for history, we talked about how sailors of the British empire would be tortured if they did something wrong.

After lunch, we went to the Cambridge town. We did a lot of shopping there - I bought some earl grey tea and chocolate (it was called Divine). It was the BEST chocolate I have ever tasted!

After that, we went back to Churchill College and played our final game of rounders. In addition to the fun, we played in the rain today - we will never be able to do this in Hong Kong!

Finally, we had our formal dinner at night. However, I like the dinner the days before (the chicken was too small and the desert is too sweet tonight...)

So, this is what happened to us in our days of theCambridge journey. Thank you for reading me and Elvin's news updates. I hope I can come back here in the future. But for now, goodbye Cambridge, goodbye England, goodbye Britain!

Day 11 (12 Aug) is special for our teachers because it is the first day (probably the only) we are allowed to sit their lessons. The photos provided by Miss Leung show the students' focused learning during different lessons. Interestingly, Mrs Ho and Miss Leung are engaged in the class as well! What to know more? Elvin and Ronney's report come punctually below!

Elvin Lam:

Today we went to Sawston to have lessons and I was so excited to hear that we were going to learn about ways to produce electricity. We had a booklet to write on and jot notes. Besides the basic energy production ways, I also learnt new ones like Geothermal energy, Hydroelectricity and Tidal energy. It was very fun to to learn these. The history lesson was also fun too. We learnt to write Victorian English using quills. It was so hard that I couldn't imagine how people wrote in English before. And in the English lesson, we chatted about the poet talk, and also the titles for debate. It was enjoyable too!

We spent time chatting and recording and preparing for the presentation tomorrow. And we recorded scenes that were so nice and I can't wait to see them. We played the spaghetti tower tonight and we built the stunning tower. We cooperated well, and that brought us to a place where we can get five team points which is the first place. We were so happy!

More updates tomorrow, bye❗️

Ronney Chang:

A very ordinary day.

We had the standard breakfast (chocolate cereal with bread) this morning. Then, we went to Sawston to have lessons: English, science and history.

After that, we went back to Churchill College and prepared for the final presentation (sorry, it is still a secret...you will know all about it tomorrow.) We prepared for the presentation for nearly five hours! It was really exhausting...

At the end of the day (after we had dinner,which was fred salmon and potatoes), we went to play a game that needed us to build the highest tower with marshmallows and spaghetti. Even though we didn't win, we got to eat marshmallows! However, I personally think they are too sweet...yuck!

So, tomorrow is our final presentation and I can't wait to tell you all about it! Talk to u again tomorrow, bye!

The ninth day (10 Aug) of the magical tour is certainly more than the charity dinner. It is probably due to the surprise guest appearance of the English Head during the dinner that all the photos of the day are from that time! (In fact, we have no other supply of pictures today!) And we apologize that they all have to be selfies! Do read the reports below for more info of the day:

Elvin Lam:

Today had a bit of rain. We went to Sawston again to have lessons. Science was still the best lesson throughout the day. We learned about magnets. And the reaction to the iron sprays was impressive circles and the lines showed clearly where the electricity goes. It's a great experiment. 

I also liked the history lesson as we could use computers to search for information about an invention. And I was in charge of Sir Isaac Newton; it was so good to know more about someone who discovered gravity in Cambridge. 

In the English lesson, we learned anything about interview skills. And we also got to know what is poetry. 

The lunch today was brilliant! Although it was just beef sauce pasta, it was so delicious! We played football at the early afternoon. We were so lucky to play with some senior group members, and we tied at 4-4. It was an exciting match. 

We went to see the poet Annaliese Emanns Dean. She shared some of her ideas and poems and thoughts in a poetic way. It was very extraordinary but funny. I liked the ladybug poem most as it was so funny. We could also buy her poem collection for 15% off and she gave me her autograph and bookmark. I was so lucky to have such a famous poet to sign in my book! 

And we had preparation on our presentation. We decided to change the lyrics from the pop song "Good Time". And it was really successful. 

At last we had a short charity talk and a dinner. I used £5 to buy 5 raffle tickets. Although I didn't win any prizes, I was still very happy about that event!

It was such a relaxing but fun day. I think I would love the wind as we are going to the Swaftham wind turbine tomorrow. I am sure it will be massive and stunning and I think you are going to have lots to read!

Ronney Chang:

Today, I met our English panel head/my English teacher/the website founder - Dr. Lee, at Churchill College!

Well, it all started normally today: with (boring) breakfast and lovely lessons. Then we played another round of rounders today (my legs are getting sore from that much sports...) and enjoyed a wonderful talk from the author Anneliese Emmans Dean (she is actually a poet ). She was very good at performing poems and humorously introducing us to different kinds of insects. After that Dr. Lee came into the picture...

I first saw Dr. Lee when I was preparing for the final presentation (it is a secret...). At that time, we had already prepared for 1.5 hour, so I felt tired and I looked out the window. That was when I saw a little figure coming from the horizon; I focused again: it was him! It was Dr. Lee! 

We then had dinner at the grassland together and participated in a lucky draw (all the money will go to a charity group: we needed to pay £1 for one raffle ticket). The results haven't been announced but I am really excited! I will tell you about my results tomorrow. Bye for now!

Day 8 (9 Aug) features the choral evensong at a local church, in addition to the English, history and science lessons the children have during the day. Again, our two travelogue writers find their day wonderful:

Elvin Lam:

Today I had the best lesson ever! The science lesson told us how to extract DNA from strawberries and kiwi fruits. Although there were some messy and yucky moments during the extraction, the result was really great. I didn't know that DNA is actually things that look like fluffy clouds. This is probably my first DNA experiment I have experienced in my life and I was feeling so fantastic that I had brought the experiment to a huge success. The teacher even gave me a team point for my hard-workingness! 

The English lesson is also enjoyable. We did a radio broadcast about what we saw these days. And we're on time at one minute sharp finishing 3 attractions, our group was so lucky! 

The history lesson was also nice. It talked about a poem and brought us to the story of Guy Fawkes. We were interested in listening to the teacher saying what Guy experienced.

In the afternoon, we did some activities with our mentor. Then, we walked in our smart clothes to the St. Gilles churches to enjoy my first choral evensong. Although it was a bit boring, I was totally stunned by the grand and stunning design of the church. I liked the windows most. Except that they were very colourful, the pictures on the windows were also very nicely decorated. We were shocked by the amazing voice of the mentors. Overall it was quite relaxing. 

We also took a group photo, but it took long to arrange the places to stand. But anyway, I was extremely happy that we played a football game and we won 7-0. And one goal was scored by myself. And the match also helped me to build up friendship with others.

It had been a long day. But I can't wait for the poet's talk tomorrow as poetry is always my favourite. Will update more tomorrow about poetry!

Ronney Chang:

So, here is what happened in our first non-outing day at Churchill College (Cambridge):

Today, after we had breakfast (yes, cereal AGAIN!) and the three lessons - English, History, Science, I still like this the most: we found the DNA of kiwi today. And for History, we prepared for our final presentation (I won't tell you now. it is a secret...)

Then, we went to the St. Giles Church and enjoyed a wonderful choral evensong ,sung by the mentors from Cambridge University. The songs were really lovely!

When the sun started setting down after we had dinner (we had dinner after the evensong, we played rounders again (for more information, pls read the passage a few days ago...). It was still a really good game. This time, we finally won the competition. I was very happy.
 
This is what happened today, talk to you again tomorrow. Bye!

Day 6 (7 Aug) is highly anticipated because of the tour at Harry Potter Studio. Does it live up to the expectation? Let's see the reports below:

Elvin Lam:

Normal lessons was delivered in the morning. I still thought that the History lesson was the best one. The lesson was about the unfairness for girls in 1890's United Kingdom. We thought of ways to get the right to vote in that period as girls, like protesting or doing illegal things. But we knew that if these actions were done, we would be sent straight to jail. And we took our packed lunch on the bus. Same as yesterday, I took the B.L.T. Sandwich again. 

Then we arrived at the Harry Potter Studio after 1.5 hour of bus ride. The architecture looks really cool. Just like a perfect place to record the Harry Potter Movies. We went in the museum and I could see all the scenes and props that appeared in the movie. They were all stunning and marvelous! My favourite part of the studio was the huge Hogwarts castle. The construction of the whole model took 40 days. It had no difference from the one we see in the movie!

It was just unbelievable that all the props behind the scenes could be so detailed! We visited the room which stored all the wands of the entire crew. It was really impressive. It took us quite a long time to find the one that Harry uses. The gift shop was massively wonderful! I bought two wands (one Harry's & one Dumbledore's) and a notebook and other accessories. The souvenirs were all very nice.

It had been such a nice day. Tomorrow we will go the the zoo, and you will be able to see my awesome photos of the animals. I just can't forget what I did today, it's such a lucky experience!

Ronney Chang: 

As usual, we had lessons today, and my favorite is still science (we did a research on ivy leaves' shapes and sizes.) Then, after a lunch with insects and bees (I ate B.L.T. again-3 days in a row...), and an 1.5 hour bus ride, we arrived at the Harry Potter Studio.

The studio was amazing, with all the props from those eight Harry potter motion pictures. There were also a quidditch stimulator, which was really fun. Despite that, I was a bit disappointed: we had insufficient time there. For the last few exhibitions, we could only take a glimpse, I didn't even take any photos!

I hope I can come here again.

Day 5 (6 Aug) proves to be another packed and rich cultural and intellectual experience for our boys. The Natural History Museum and the show at King's Cross Theatre amaze them all. Let's see what our reporters have to say:

Elvin Lam:

Today was a day mainly spent at London! We had to wake up very early to catch the coach and arrive at London on time. The ride took about 2 hours. During the trip, I saw London in a different angle. Rather than Big Ben and Tower Bridge, I saw a working class face of the city. They all run shops for money. And I was also very happy that I was able to see the Wembley Stadium as it's one of the best stadiums in the world. Then we were all really amazed by the stunning design of the Natural History Museum. And the interior was also nice too. I love this museum as it has lots of sculptures (Dino Skeletons, Real corals) rather than just words and photos. My favourite of the museum was the gift shop. As there were lots nice products & souvenirs to buy and there were also a lot books which are pretty good for sale. I bought a book called "ALIVE" which is excellent!
I took a B.L.T. sandwich for lunch and we headed to King's Cross Theatre early as there might be traffic due to the strike of Underground. And we were nearly late. We watched a play called "The Railway Children". I was surprised that there was really a true steamed-powered engine heading into the stage. It was a magnificent scene. I also liked the storyline!

I can't wait for the start of tomorrow as we're going to the Harry Potter Studio!

Ronney Chang:

Well, as I promised, today I am going to talk all about Natural History Museum and "The Railway Children".

The museum was simply fantastic. There were four different parts: blue zone, red zone, green zone and orange zone. Although all parts were equally awesome, the dinosaurs part was my favourite. I have loved dinosaurs since I was young, and this trip was like a dream come true. There were dinosaurs fossils all over the place (either on the ceiling or on the floor). I really loved this place!

Then we went to see "The Railway Children". It was about three children whose father was framed for traitoring. So they went to a place called The Three Chimneys and had some close adventures with trains. Eventually, they became the railway children. It was a really good show! There was even a real train in the theatre!

That's all for today. And for tomorrow, we are going to...HARRY POTTER STUDIO! I am really excited! Bye❗