THE Colosseum, pizza and Pompeii were among the cultural highlights Roedean schoolgirls enjoyed on a classics trip to Italy.

The year 10 to 13 students spent six days sightseeing and embracing Italian culture.

The girls spent the first two days of their trip walking through the ancient streets of Rome. No trip could be complete without a visit to Roman amphitheatre the Colosseum. Year 13 student Amelia Day said: “It was breath-taking to be standing in a place like the Colosseum, where people had been fighting thousands of years ago.”

The girls also visited the Trevi Fountain and the Vatican, energised by a hearty supply of pizza and pasta.

On the third day the girls headed to the Gulf of Naples on the south-western coast of Italy opening into the Mediterranean. The area is known for its attractions including the Gulf of Naples islands and the beauty of the volcanic hills, blue sea and beaches. The following day the group trekked up Mount Vesuvius where they marvelled at the stunning views over the Bay of Naples. Amelia added: “Nothing will ever beat standing on top of Vesuvius and seeing all of the Bay of Naples.”

The group also visited Pompeii, which was destroyed and buried under 20 ft of volcanic ash after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The pupils walked around the ruins and soaked up the culture. They even managed to share the experience with students back at Roedean with video link phone calls to Year 9s - making for a very immersive remote lesson.

On the final day in nearby Sorrento the girls made their own lunch at a pizza-making workshop in a real Italian family-run restaurant making for a great end to the trip.

The GCSE Latin and A Level Classical Civilisation students have come away inspired and enlightened by the trip.

Sophie Delves in year 13 said: “The Classics trip to Italy was something that I’ll never forget. Not just from a Classics enthusiast’s perspective, but from a social and cultural experience also, the trip widened my knowledge and developed my love for the subject.”

Students studying Classical Civilisation A Level read translated Greek or Roman texts and study a range of art works and archaeological sites offering a fascinating insight into the lives of people in the Ancient World.

Classics teacher Rebecca Miller commented: “Being able to walk the streets and see inside the houses of ancient Pompeii brings the Classical world to life in a way that is truly hard to manage in a classroom. Also being able to Skype our year nine Latin classes back in Brighton from the market place of Pompeii was so exciting for us as teachers - technology was absolutely being used to its best effect, a real union of the ancient and the modern.”