Seeing Berlin through students’ eyes was a privilege

If you’re a history lover like me, Berlin is a treasure chest waiting to be opened and if you’re sitting on the fence about taking a school trip to Berlin… consider this your nudge to jump right off it.

In October half term, I had the incredible opportunity to travel with Langton Grammar on my very first school tour not just with TCBC School Tours, but ever! I never went on one as a student, so this was a completely new experience for me. My most exciting school outing back then was a day trip to the David Livingstone Museum in Blantyre so being in Berlin, surrounded by history, architecture, and students discovering it all firsthand, felt like such a privilege.

Watching how smoothly the teachers and guides worked together gave me a real appreciation for the planning and responsibility behind every trip.

As the new marketing manager at TCBC School Tours, I wanted to see everything from a school group’s perspective from the planning and hotel to the tours, guides, and meals. I wanted to understand why these trips matter so much. And oh my goodness what an experience.

The Langton boys were studying GCSE Democracy and Dictatorship Germany 1890–1945 and GCSE Conflict and Tension East and West 1945–1972, so this trip couldn’t have been more relevant. Everything they were seeing, from the remnants of Nazi Germany to the scars of the Cold War linked directly to their curriculum. Berlin wasn’t just a destination; it was the chance to walk through the very topics they had been learning in the classroom.

One thing that really struck me throughout the trip was how well-behaved and respectful the boys were. If I had been their teacher, parent or friend, I would have been so proud. They were polite, curious, engaged and a genuine credit to the school. And during the final room checks at the hotel, one room with four boys had neatly folded all their used towels and placed them in the centre of the floor. I genuinely wasn’t expecting that from a group of 15/16-year-olds - such a small gesture, but it said so much about their maturity.

Berlin’s dark history: dictatorship, division & the Cold War

Our walking tour with guide Nick took us through several key sites. Each place had its own atmosphere, and hearing the stories as we stood there brought the history to life in a very real way.

We began at the Holocaust Memorial, a vast field of 2,711 concrete blocks that creates a strange, quiet sense of disorientation as you walk through the pathways. Even surrounded by a busy city, it feels surprisingly still.

A short walk away is the site of Hitler’s bunker. Today it’s simply an ordinary road and a car park with an orange bin. Fitting.

Next was the Brandenburg Gate. I’ve seen it in photos so many times, but it’s far more impressive in person, especially knowing how much has unfolded around it over the decades. We got to experience this both during the day and in the evening all lit up.

One of the most interesting stops was the Berlin Wall Memorial at Bernauer Straße. Nick explained how the Wall cut straight through the street, with buildings on the East side facing directly into West Berlin. People were so desperate at the beginning that some tried to jump from their windows into the West before the authorities bricked them up. Others attempted to escape through tunnels dug from basements and cellars along the street. Hearing these stories while standing right there made it feel incredibly real.

The Stasi Museum for me was unlike anything else we visited. It had its own guide, and the whole experience felt - in my own words - a bit bonkers.

The offices, equipment and surveillance methods used by East Germany’s secret police are still on display, preserved in time. The building on its own is worthy of a visit. Seeing the systems they used to monitor people’s lives was fascinating, unsettling and, at times, almost unbelievable. It really was a world of its own.

Walking through history with students

Even though this was my first time on a school trip, I could see how valuable it was for the boys to experience these places in person. They were genuinely engaged with Nick’s stories and the guides at the Reichstag and Stasi Museum.

You can learn a lot from textbooks, but seeing the Berlin Wall, walking through Sachsenhausen, standing at Checkpoint Charlie or noticing bullet holes in buildings brings the curriculum to life in a way nothing else can. This is exactly why Berlin works so well for school history trips.

One thing that really struck me throughout the trip was how well-behaved and respectful the boys were. If I had been their teacher, parent or friend, I would have been so proud. 

And watching how smoothly the teachers and guides worked together gave me a real appreciation for the planning and responsibility behind every trip.

Berlin has a difficult past, but also so much warmth and character and that’s exactly why it works so well as a school trip destination. And yes, I will definitely be back.