Education / ‘A once in a lifetime experience’ – Brae High School trip to Norway
S3 pupil Beenie-Ann Wood reflects on a recent trip to Norway that was the culmination of a lockdown project designed to break the isolation created by the Covid-19 pandemic
WE WENT to represent our school because of an exchange programme that took place in 2021. This experience made me see the world in a different light and I will forever be grateful for all that I took from it. Once we step outside of what we are familiar with, endless opportunities are presented.
This journey began back in 2021, when I was in Primary 6, and the world was still fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Life was so different, and at times it felt impossible to connect with friends and family. Our school recognised this and created an active response to the situation and decided to reach out a little further than Brae.
We got in contact with Moster School, Bømlo, Norway and we both began making creative pieces such as pictures, diaries and scrapbooks to send away and put in a time capsule, in hopes one day we could open it together!
The idea excited everyone, however as time passed, we heard less about it and wondered if anything would come of it. That was until recently, I spoke to our headteacher, Mr. Nicolson, and like me, he was keen to get things started again. After many meetings and emails, we got the news four Brae High School pupils, and a teacher would get the chance to fly to Norway to open the time capsule.
Maisy Nicolson, Harry Johnson, Jake Davies and me (all S3), got chosen to be the representatives for our school along with Mrs. Robertson (P7 teacher), we were all extremely excited about the opportunity.
It wasn’t long before we left to embark on this new adventure and after a long day of travel, we arrived in Bømlo, late at night. We were all staying with host families, Jake and Harry were staying with a boy called Liam and his family, Maisy and I were staying with Anna Lovise and her family and Mrs. Robertson was staying with a teacher from Moster School, Marianne, and her family. All the families were so kind and looked after us, making us feel at home.
We were only in Bømlo for a couple days, however our itinerary was filled with fun activities, as we were there during the 1000 Year Jubilee Celebrations of Christian Law. This meant it was an exciting weekend for all.
We started day one helping with decorating the Viking village. People came from all around and lived in old Viking tents and dressed as Vikings, just like things would have been in the past. I felt like I had travelled back in time!
After watching a unique dance performance, we headed to Moster School, where we got to share some things about Shetland with the class. Everyone was so welcoming and happy to meet us! We spent the rest of the afternoon watching a beautiful music performance from the locals before heading to the main event…the time capsule opening.
It was wonderful to meet the pupils we shared this journey with for the first time, although we spoke different languages, we all seemed to click! The local news there, and we got the chance to be interviewed. Everything felt so surreal, I don’t think I will ever be able to find the words to describe this experience.
It was a full circle moment, opening the time capsule and seeing the scrapbook I made back in P6! All these memories of me making it came flooding back and it reminded me of how much work I had put into it.
As I looked through all the pieces, I could see the hard work everyone had put in, and it reminded me of how tough lockdown was and how far things have come from then.
Brae High School has always been a place where success is at its best when we are together, and this project really highlighted that. The connections I have made from this experience over time have become stronger than I ever thought possible and that’s what I’m most thankful for. Before putting my scrapbook back, I wrote myself a future note as this experience proved to me, anything is possible and so who knows, I might be back to open it once more.
Later that day, Anna Lovise and her family took Maisy and I to a beach near their house for a swim. The sun was low and reflected beautifully of the still water as we went in. It was freezing but with the excitement of the world around us, we didn’t care much. This is one of my favourite memories I made, and one I will treasure.
The next day was another day of big celebration. The roads were filled with people from all around and the atmosphere was truly magical! After taking a walk around the sights we headed to the Viking village. This was particularly enjoyable for Harry who got to be part of it; here’s why, as well as his views on the experience…
“My experience in Norway was really good, meeting new people and making new friends, but what I really liked was having my Delting Up Helly Aa suit from 2023 with me (Harry wore this in the Viking village).
“The Norwegian people were looking at me funny, but I had good conversations with them. Everyone was so nice, and I enjoyed the interactions with the people, so intrigued about the suit and asking loads of questions, praising the hard work. I would like to say thank you to all the people that made it happen and for the good times and memories!”
Next, we got the opportunity to take a trip on a galley ship to get a view of the Crown Prince and Princess of Norway on their ship. We weren’t perhaps the best at rowing; however, it didn’t seem to matter much! The skipper, who was quite a colourful character, seemed to keep us right. It was amazing seeing Bømlo from the ocean, it was beautiful.
After doing some shopping in a nearby town, we headed to the last event of our trip, the concert. Two young Norwegian singers, Emma and William delivered an upbeat and fun performance which everyone enjoyed. We also had a local choir and a dance group perform which was wonderful.
Later that night we took a drive to the Shetland Bus Monument, which was incredible, I had no idea Bømlo had a connection to Shetland. Jake was happy to have gone, as he had family connections to it.
After an early start at 2.30am, we made it back to Shetland with lots of memories, friendships and Norwegian chocolate!
This experience was once in a lifetime and has inspired me to see the world when I grow up. I will never forget the kindness of the people we met and the beauty of the things we saw. This adventure allowed me to live in the moment and welcome every opportunity with an open mind, and an open heart, I will forever be grateful.
Written by Beenie-Ann Wood, S3, Brae High School, 2024
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