Iceland Trip 2023

50 KS5 students embarked on a trip of a lifetime to Iceland over the February half-term. On the first full day, they completed the famous ‘Golden Circle’. Immediately they were exposed to the power of geothermal activity, located in the small village of Fludir, they started their journey with a swim in the Secret Lagoon which was a staggering 38-40 Celsius. This underlying heat also powered the extremely popular Fridheimar Tomato Greenhouse serving its renowned soup. The second day was themed ‘a day of fire’, we visited the eighth-largest geothermal power station in the world and walked right up to active lava which was still warm and emitting columns of gas from the 2021 eruption. They then grabbed their helmets and snow shoes and walked deep down through a lava tunnel into the side of a volcano, witnessing spectacular ice stalactites and the walls were made of basaltic lava boasting a deep red hue. That night we were in awe of the northern lights hovering over us, allowing plenty of time for a once in a lifetime photo opportunity. The last full day was themed ‘the day of ice’, the day began with one of the standout activities of climbing onto a Glacier using our crampons and ice axes. We were very fortunate to have clear blue skies and the sun allowed us to peer deep into the crevasses below. We then went on to visit a small fishing village and finished the day with a remarkable black-sanded beach formed by the underlying volcanic rock. Our last day consisted of visiting a lava centre that had a panorama of the three surrounding volcanoes of Hekla, Katla, and Eyjafjallajokull famous for the 2010 eruption that grounded flights. We finished our incredible trip with a visit to a planetarium in Reykjavik, which gave us a dramatic summary and explanation of the landscapes we saw as well as the northern lights we were so lucky to encounter.