cooking school day trips-anyone tried those recently?

Funny that you mention this, many of us Catalans are very much into cooking -it's no accident some the best restaurateurs in the world are here, and no, I'm not bragging, just stating a fact: http://www.theworlds50best.com/list/1-50-winners ;)) - and there are plenty of courses like the ones you mention. Unfortunately though the vast majority are in Catalan language and some in Spanish. But since this hobby has caught up too with many expats and visitors, there are now a bunch of courses in English too. Some are 'proper' cooking courses while others are just an excuse to have an introduction to cooking and Catalan cuisine (or some other world's cuisines too!). The later type are more fun if you ask me.

Here a few addresses you might want to check out:

http://www.cookandtaste.net/
http://www.barcelonacooking.net/en/
http://www.bcnkitchen.com/en/
http://www.sophieruggles.com/boca-a-boca-cooking-classes/#4

If anything try to avoid those ones trying to shuffle a language course masked in a cooking class, they're extremely touristy (in the bad sense!) and you're likely to be disappointed.

We once took a cooking class in a private home. The day begins by meeting the instructor at a market hall where the ingredients are purchased the, then off to the inner city apartment to cook a 3 course typical meal. It was sort of cooking + cultural immersion. Very much enjoyed the insight that the day provided.

Five years ago, I took a class from this place:
http://www.cookandtaste.net/half-day-cooking-class-barcelona.html

I enjoyed it. We made tomato bread, tortilla, paella, and crema catalana. This is definitely a class for tourists, but I thought it was fun. I also took their La Bouqueria tour before the class.