THERE were plenty of smiles and waves before they left.

But the ‘holiday’ for this party of young people wasn’t going to be all pleasure.

Indeed, very little of it was going to be pleasure.

They were pupils at Bayswater Middle School in Barton, Oxford, and were preparing to leave for a six-day visit to Holland in 1987.

They were to be based at a primary school in Meidoorn, near Dordrecht.

The programme included exploring the host town and visiting neighbouring Dutch towns and the countryside.

But any of the party of 11 to 13-year-olds expecting an easy week were quickly disillusioned.

Party leader Sue Crisp told the Oxford Mail before they left: “It won’t be much of a holiday for the kids because they will be involved in a lot of work while they are there.”

These youngsters could, however, count themselves as pioneers.

This was the first link Bayswater had forged with a Dutch school and everyone was hopeful that this wouldn’t be a one-off.

The idea, while they were in Holland, was to make preliminary arrangements for a group of Dutch students to visit Oxford the following year.

Seven staff accompanied the party of more than 50 on the trip to Holland.

Do you recognise yourself or anyone else in the picture, or have any memories of the trip?

Write and let me know.