Testimonials…
“Hello from ancient Corinth, on the last day of Study Tour 2022, yesterday! What an amazing ten days we’ve had! Heartfelt thanks to @Sarah404BC for all the organisation, and @BSAthens for organising our permits and site admissions- we can’t wait to do it all again in 2023!”
MM
“Genuinely one of my favourite trips ever – from a teacher who has been on MANY Classics trips. SLT Head of trips and cocurricular branded it the most educational, fun, well organised and best value for money trip he has ever been on! The pupils got so much out of it. It’s such amazing value for money. I think so much would have been harder and less amazing without you keeping me on straight and narrow. The team were amazing. If I had any emergency my end they were there in an instant with personal phone call and email clarifications. Thanks to Vishal and Claudia for sorting the insurance and paperwork. Was always confident I could call local agent or Hellene. Had our coach driver number and courier in Athens and both replied quickly when needed. Courier in Athens (Anna) was outstanding. Zacharias, our driver was outstanding. So easygoing, gave oranges from his dad’s farm to everyone. Looked out for pupils. Coach was modern, clean and well maintained.”
SW
“Overall, the trip was the best we ever did in Greece, timings were perfect and the pupils loved it. All hotels provided very good food, breakfast and dinner. The Sounio taverna was amazing. If Dimitris is available next year, we definitely want him. Best driver we ever had. The other two teachers were impressed with the quality of the tour.”
AG
“The trip was fantastic, even better than last time. The transport was great. Having 4 drivers was super and they were so accommodating. Hotel and staff brilliant. It was a wonderful trip which we want to make an annual thing. We were contemplating an extra night perhaps leaving Wednesday lunchtime enabling us to fit in a longer walk along the wall and a bit more time at Vindolanda.”
CO
“You are total bloody star, Sarah Thomason. Thank you, for your sterling efforts to accommodate (or bat back!) my ideas.”
AK
“We have had an excellent tour and are looking forward already to planning next year! Will do your feedback form when recovered a bit. It was a pleasure to work with you to plan and arrange the trip. Claudia and Vishal were excellent and extremely helpful. The student’s experience for exceeded our expectations. It was a fantastic trip.”
ET & MM
“Thank you so much for everything you’ve done to make this a memorable trip – our school’s first international outing of any sort since February 2020. Sarah and John worked very hard to accommodate our requirements, give us the best advice and circumvent the various curve-balls thrown by the continuing effects of the pandemic. All 42 of our pupils were able to learn a great amount and enjoyed themselves considerably along the way. Sarah was able to condense the trip programme with quite remarkable efficiency – so much so that, even I had been able to take an extra night, there would be very little that I would add. The sheer volume of glowing parental thank-you notes (even after a 3am return home) says it all. Sarah and her colleagues were available for advice throughout the planning process, and would regularly respond to emails within minutes. She is a pleasure to work with, and I really appreciated the extra updates and pieces of advice, such as the (excellent) recommendation of the Mercato Centrale as an accessible but culinarily interesting place for lunch near Termini! Sabrina and Loredana stayed with us throughout our long and tiring days, and their recommendations for lunch were spot-on. They were also excellent company, and very accommodating of my dubious (French-inflected) Italian!”
TV
“Thank you for your Newsletter, pleased to have so much info about Teachers feedback.” CE
“Nice and easy and help provided if needed, by return email. Super support by Claudia Willocks. It was a shame some of the pertinent rooms were closed. Hellene had informed us of this but it was still a shame. We will definitely go again next year – hopefully the Parthenon galleries will be open by then.”
KD
“I expect you’re used to school trip planning going at snail’s pace for a while and suddenly making huge leaps, and I would predict the same for this one, at least as long as the school is waiting for updated advice on trips abroad. But I’m very grateful for your thoroughness and we will certainly be using your company”
SH
“So great to have a trip after so long; all the concerns about COVID never manifested themselves, and we felt very looked after. Excellent communication for every little question I had (and there were lots); as a first-time leader of a trip I was helped hugely. We really liked Dimitri of Argos, who taught us lots about fruit trees and non-existent roundabouts as we travelled along. The students were buzzing with excitement, and I’ve had lots of nice comments through from their parents already. Personal enthusiasm for Classics from the company personnel and a willingness to suffer silly questions from me. Keeping costs down is obviously always important to get pupils to come.”
HP
“Thank you very much for all your work on our trip. The students had a fantastic time and I was super impressed with all the arrangements Hellene were behind – it was exceptionally efficient, well-organised, and thoroughly enjoyable. Your help and support in the planning stages was very much appreciated, and we will book again through Hellene. Similar sentiments for the Amoratis family and their staff who were phenomenal throughout. Our driver, Vasilis, was absolutely wonderful.”
TR
“This was an excellent tour which ran extremely smoothly and was hugely appreciated by all (I have received more thank-you emails from parents than ever before!). Itinerary tailored around the sites needed for OCR Class Civ Theatre and Religion modules. Only the whispering headsets did not function satisfactorily and were not used after an abortive attempt to tune them on the first day. Good to have money back on those, and I have mentioned that they did not really seem necessary – though I appreciate that with a different set of custodians and later in the season it might be different. Dimitris Schizas is absolutely second to none: he was so proactive and so on top of whom to ring and when. His recommendations have proved tip top. Why would I go elsewhere when such tried and tested, and friendly experts are available?! Experience and attention to detail, and excellent support network are factors. All the Hellene staff should be patting themselves on the back! THANK YOU!”
CH
“Love your Newsletters, always full of such good stuff.”
JL
“I just wanted to say thank you for the teacher resources part of these Newsletters. You have your finger right on the pulse and I’m picking up lots of brand-new material for Greek Religion.”
FG
“Thank you for all your help getting me out to Athens, the work we did on the map was invaluable. Didn’t get everywhere we wanted but that’s fine – saved for next time! Did see Schliemann’s tomb which was awesome, said hello. Already planning to go back next year!”
KD
“Thank you for the roundup of where you are with the Father of our ME pupil, and thank you SO much for having these conversations with him, I know he’s found it incredibly supportive and helpful.”
AM
“Happy memories, dear both, and huge gratitude for all you did to make those trips so very memorable. In the Footsteps of Pendlebury still ranks as my all-round Number One-of-nine Patrons trips. I was thinking about Maurizio only yesterday when I said to Venetia how I’d love to go to Rome again AND meet up with him – honestly! I wish you both well and sincerely hope that that Phoenix flickers again ‘ere long!”
DF
“Having a conversation with John and Sarah is a rollercoaster…..a compendium of fascination…….it leads you places you did not know existed both intellectually, geographically and spiritually! I would not use anyone else I feel safe with you in charge. That is worth a million dollars because I do not want to be thinking of anything but keeping the kids together and making sure they are safe and experiencing stuff”
JL
“I am moving to Spain, to teach Classics in a British school there, and, whenever the current trouble fades, I will definitely be interested in trips to Athens and Rome-Naples. Your expertise and connections are invaluable.”
AG
“Let’s hope all those years of hard work and relationships built with schools and staff bear fruition in the future with any new venture – I know that my departments wouldn’t have been half as popular over the years if we hadn’t had all those trips as a little sweetener and a reminder as to why Classics is so great. All those relationships forged, memories created and sites visited have really helped students to see Classics in a much broader perspective. I still maintain that my trip to Italy in 1999 as an A level student is one of the best holidays I’ve ever had, and our trips with you guys to Greece, Italy and Turkey have been some of the highlights and most memorable experiences of my teaching career!”
MB
“I have been fortunate to accompany and lead so many memorable and enjoyable trips in partnership with you, and the students (and staff!) who have been on them have enjoyed and benefited from them immeasurably. I have benefited hugely from your wisdom, experience and guidance, and I know that my colleagues teaching at other schools feel the same. Your absence would be strongly felt by Classics teachers looking to organise trips in the future and I can only hope that you will still be able to contribute in this area.”
BH
“I have travelled with you so many times and was hoping for many more trips. I am desperate to go on a school trip with my pupils as they get so much from a trip. My trips are always oversubscribed. I have huge waiting lists. It would be great to be your clients again soon.”
Dr ESS
“You have been market leaders, and I am dismayed at the thought of trying to run a trip abroad without you. I have loved the family feel of Hellene, and the sense that your Greek (and I’m sure Italian) colleagues are so committed to the success and well-being of pupils and staff in their care. Thank you for your inspirational gift to us over the years of trip after trip which pupils regularly call ‘the best holiday of my life!’ You have given so much to the wider Classics community, and to countless young people whose horizons have been expanded wonderfully. I would very much like to take our usual (if that is possible) Greece trip next March.”
CH
“I have always enjoyed the more personalised, bespoke approach. Your agents and drivers, particularly in Greece, have been top-notch, so we wouldn’t be against renewing those old acquaintances.”
TP
“Hi Sarah, loving all of your tweets, retweets and likes, as ever. The Classics Dept met today, and we all wondered how you are getting on. We had so many good times with Hellene. We are not sure that any of the rivals will match your standards.”
CA
“I’d love to be able to run a trip in October 2021 and will be saying this in my letter to parents. I’d hope that most parents would be happy to use the money paid already for this trip. We’ve got 50 signed up so I think even if some dropped out, we’d still have viable numbers at 30+.”
NJ
“Hello Sarah. I hope all is well with you and John. I am thinking about a trip to Greece for May half term 2021. We’ve been using you for so many years now, we don’t want or know anybody else!”
MA
“Covid-19 just can’t keep a good woman down! 😉 May I be honest? You were always very loyal to your Staff, but from my perspective the trips I led never ran more smoothly, with better communication and organisation, than when it was you and John overseeing everything; so, I am actually heartened to find out that you haven’t given up the ghost”
SD
“If you and John arose Phoenix-like from the ashes, you would get all my Classics business. I trust no others.”
IP
“With your help, school Classics trips became easier, more focused, more adventurous and flexible. Without Hellene, Pendlebury and Fields of Fire would have been immeasurably the poorer. Without Hellene, I would not have Maurizio and Gabriela as friends, with all the joy that has brought. And, of course, I would not have met you two and found two people so exactly to my way of thinking! That I wanted to work for Hellene speaks, I hope, for the affection in which I hold it and you. forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit.”
SH
“So pleased to hear you and John are starting up again. Although all my interactions with Hellene were positive over the years, I did miss dealing with you directly! Hundreds of pupils have enjoyed your wonderful Classics trips over the last 10+ years and I am keen to resurrect them as soon as possible. As soon as I have more information, I will be in touch again as I would dearly like to use you and your wonderful contacts, especially those in Sorrento we now know so well. Please do keep me on your mailing list. I would love to hear what you do decide to do and hope to be one of your first clients to return!”
CO’C
“I am tentatively thinking of going to Ioannina before we go back to school. I’ve been wanting to go for years, but saw your article and it was really inspirational. If you set up a mailing list, please feel free to add me to it. It would be really helpful for me to know how things are going at your end. I hope you and John are well — Janet often tells me what good people you were to work with. I’m pleased that you are still thinking of keeping things moving.”
SA
“Your help, encouragement is one thing. Quite another has been the advice born of your familiarity with the world of Greece and Rome and what will work today. Simply, you have opened the eyes of hundreds of us lucky students and introduced us to wonderful people. What you have achieved is immeasurable. All I can say is “thank you, thank you, thank you!” to you and John, to let you know what a true inspiration you both are.”
AM
“We have always held you in such high regard and have had fantastic experiences with you. We would indeed be interested in exploring the potential for future trips, particularly if you and John are personally involved.”
EH
“We are going to aim for another Italy trip, probably Rome/Pompeii in October 2021 at the earliest. Would love to be booking with you again!”
CB
“Many thanks for your help and support during this sorry process. Once this is all over I look forward to planning the next one with you!”
EG
“I will confirm my desire to promote a new trip, perhaps to embark next academic year. I look forward to arranging the new trip with you in the future.”
DG
“We are looking at doing basically the same tour as last time but with a few tweaks to the programme. I hope you can find something that would work for us, and that this whole C19 thing is over by then!”
AH
“Rest assured that we have always used Hellene for Italy and Greece and would not go elsewhere. You offer schools a fine service.”
CL
“Very many thanks for all the wonderful trips over the years. I am stepping down as HoD and my long-colleague and friend, is taking over – I am delighted to say. We have discussed this already and we are keen to shift Greece on one year to Oct 2021”
CB
“I am very keen to try and run our Rome trip in the next academic year so that the students who lost out this summer can still stand a chance of coming in their Y13. My SLT were VERY positive about trips when I last asked and there is explicitly NO ban on trips or travel, if anything they feel encouraged.”
AM
“We intend to rerun the same trip (Rome, Pompeii, Sicily, by rail and coach) next Easter. When can we get going with it? Cheers.”
CL
“There are very few companies in any sector who command such loyalty and who provide the personal touch that you have always given. On a personal level, I have also thoroughly enjoyed our chats and meetings and I sincerely hope you get travelling again soon when we finally get through this.”
PF-B
“Take care and I am sure that things will start up again when the world returns to some sort of normality. Let me know if there is anything I can do to assist. Good to hear you are moving forward. Would like to arrange my next trip to Italy when it is up and running again.”
RG
“I would much rather work with a small company where the people who run it are personally invested and engaged and interested. Our school has a preferred alternate travel company but as long as I am running the trip, will firmly assert that I get to make the decisions!”
DD
“Already looking forward to the time when you’ll be back.”
MG
“I am still very keen to take a trip to Classical Greece in October 2021, preferably with you”
AH
“We have had some excellent trips thanks to your efforts, and it would be great if we could maintain the link.”
PH
“I am so pleased to hear you may continue; your trips have been fantastic and so important for Classics.”
SW
“If it is possible to work with yourselves that would be fabulous!”
IJ
“I would love to be able to travel with a company founded by you again.”
TP
“On a personal note, I wouldn’t hesitate to use your company as I have always been very happy with the service and feel like I know the tour operators well now too. If there was the option, I would always send our business your way.”
FG
“I’m not sure a Classics trip would ever be the same again – I haven’t planned or been on a trip that you weren’t involved in.”
SJS
“When we do get ‘round to planning our next trip I would definitely be interested in planning it through you. I look forward to being able to work with you again to plan our trips in the future if at all possible.”
KD
“We’d very much like to run an Italy trip next year or the year after and it’s great to hear that you should be able to support us in that.”
JB
“I pray that there will be a wonderful resurrection of Hellene in a way that will bless students young and old in our changing world. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do to support you.”
Caroline Lawrence (author)
“Very exciting to hear that the Phoenix is already beginning to stir its wings. It’s such an uncertain time, and we have no idea what the future holds, but we must march forward in the conviction that soon all this will be past. I’ve been booked to lecture on a cruise in October 2021 and very much hope that some sort of normality will have returned by then. I shall certainly do all I can to offer my support. (Coincidentally my next book is called Phoenix.) Thinking of you all and sending solidarity.”
David Stuttard (Author)
“I’m so pleased that you will get back to arranging tours – I really would like to take my fortieth tour, if at all possible.”
Gill Greef (Author, Lecturer and Guide)
“This is great news – I knew it wouldn’t be long before you were back. Thank you so much for including me in your team.”
Carolyn Perry (Lecturer, Independent Scholar, Archaeologist and Trustee, International Association for the Study of Arabia)