Welcome to blog

Welcome to the St Paul's Blog  - Below is a summary of the first part of the exchange:

Tanzanians spend week at St Paul’s - March 2012
We welcomed Fr Binamungu, (Headteacher), Madame Harriet (Geography Teacher) and 4 students from Loyola High School as part of a British Council funded exchange programme.  They spent a total of 9 days in the UK.  The students and staff attended most assemblies and met with many people at St Paul’s.  The staff worked on further developing various curriculum projects: the Geography project on sustainability; the English project; the RE project ‘Make Poverty History’.  The Loyola students also got to know the English school system, taking part in a variety of lessons.

Classroom Contact

Every class in Year 7 had a special lesson during which the Tanzanian students spoke about themselves and our students asked them questions about what life is like in Tanzanian as well as what it is like to go to Loyola High School.  Many of our students really enjoyed these sessions as it provided a chance to speak directly to someone from Africa in a frank and honest way.  The Tanzanians also got to ask our students their views and found out many interesting facts about life in the UK.

Social and Cultural Opportunities

During the 9 days, there were many opportunities for the students from Tanzanian to get to know their partners; time to develop friendship.  There was a tour of Guildford that included: visiting Guildford Cathedral; using the shopping facilities; going Ice Skating at Guildford Spectrum

London

A walking tour of London was a highlight of the week for many: standing outside Buckingham Palace; going around the Eye; hearing Big Ben chime; visiting the Catholic Westminster Cathedral; even going on a tube was a new experience for some. 

 

Time for departure
The last day in the UK involved a tour of Windsor and some for last minute shopping!  Then back to school for final farewells (some tears!) and on to Terminal 5 at Heathrow.  As the Tanzanians left it was ‘goodbye for now, see you all later’; St Paul’s students and staff will complete the second leg of the exchange in October 2012. 

Thank you

Thank you to all the families who hosted the exchange students from Tanzania, especially for the staff who helped out with various visits; Mrs Gilbert and Miss Thomson.  And a big thank you to all the students and staff of St Paul for welcoming the Loyola High staff and students, they had a great time.  Mr Dell.