school music tour Flanders world war II museum
Youth Music Tours Post

Just so good to be back on tour again!

April 17, 2023

A concert band and choir from a school in Kent have just returned from a very successful Easter music tour to Belgium.

The group were based in Flanders and performed two concerts over their four-day tour. When not performing, they enjoyed visits to a chocolaterie, a World War II museum and Gravensteen as well as a canal boat cruise. 

Here their Head of Music Jane Werry tells us why their tour was such a success.

Our snowball has just got a lot bigger again thanks to this tour. It’s just so good to be back on tour again!

Lucy, who has been our account manager for many years, knows us well, and I was absolutely happy to take her advice as to where we should go. When we failed to get 40 students, she made it possible for the tour to run with just 30, for which we are very grateful. We have also worked with Sabine, our operations manager for years; her cheerful efficiency is much appreciated. She took changes on board with speed and grace.

One of the highlight’s was a church concert where we got a very warm welcome and enthusiastic response from our audience. They gave us squash and biscuits afterwards and were just lovely. I was a bit worried that we would be stymied by some holes in the band because we only had 30 students on tour, but we managed! There was lots of space and the acoustics were lovely.

This hostel was PERFECT! 12/10. Such lovely friendly people, who have got the whole thing completely sussed. From the food to the admin (we were given master keys to all students’ rooms) to the facilities (amazing outdoor space, plus a fantastic rehearsal space, and a meeting room which we used briefly, and parking for a coach and a Harley) – it was all amazing. The rehearsal room was big, there were loads of chairs, there were no restrictions on how long we could use it for. Perfect. The staff, the rooms and the food were all absolutely brilliant. I would recommend this hostel to anyone.

The boat trip in Bruges and the Canada-Poland museum were highlights. We were very lucky with the weather. The lady at the Canada-Poland museum was so engaging, and the ‘hands-on’ box is highly recommended; the kids loved dressing up and handling lots of World War II artefacts. Our driver, Allan, was super helpful and very relaxed. Having a grumpy driver can really put a damper on things, but he was brilliant, and even popped in to one of the concerts. The coach was spotless.

It’ll be Easter again next year for us. I’m thinking Germany or Spain but will be guided by Club Europe’s expertise.

Watch this great short film the school made of their tour.

Get in touch to find out more about our Easter school music tours or all our school music tours to Belgium.

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