SHSK News

Sixth Form

27 January 2026

HelKats in Paris

Sophie (L6), Art Scholar

Sixth Form artists, historians and linguists headed to Paris on the Eurostar, ready to immerse themselves in Parisian culture.

After transferring to our hostel, our first visit was to the Musée d’Orsay, which was incredible; its large collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and 19th century work across the galleries was so inspiring. Afterwards, we spent some time in the beautiful Christmas market in Montmartre before heading back to have dinner at the hostel. 

On the second day, we visited the Louvre Museum. It was amazing, with its expansive collection of artworks. I particularly loved the Denon Wing, as there was so much to see and take in. We spent some free time sketching and visiting the Exposition Générale of modern art, where we saw many inspiring pieces which were so interesting in contrast to the scale and depth of the Louvre’s collection. We then had dinner before heading out on a beautiful river cruise, where we saw many of Paris’s iconic landmarks at night. 

On the third day, we climbed the Montparnasse Tower and saw a panoramic view of the whole city. We also learned about the history of the city, including how its architecture was carefully planned, leading to its distinctive style.

On the final day, we visited the Musée de l’Orangerie, which was my favourite part of the trip. Seeing Monet’s Water Lilies in person was an amazing experience. We also visited an exhibition on Berthe Weill, an important art dealer who supported emerging modern artists. The exhibition had a huge variety of incredible pieces, making it one of my favourite exhibitions I have ever seen. 

You can read reflections from some of the other students below.

 

 

 

I enjoyed the trip a lot, I enjoyed having lots of time in museums to sketch and sit down for a bit, since all the rushing around to different places was tiring. I think my observational drawing really improved on this trip and I felt very motivated to keep filling out my sketchbook even after it ended. It was really cool to see all the landmarks too. I would definitely recommend it to next years 6th Formers!

Art student

I really enjoyed the trip! I loved going to Versailles and I thought the tour guides used throughout were really great. It was great to consolidate French Revolution work and put me back in the mindset of coursework after the break. The only thing I would possibly change was more free roam in museums and potentially cutting down the walking tour on the last day as I would’ve liked to feel a little less time pressured in napoleons tomb - although it was great!

History student

Sophie (L6), Art Scholar

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