Bishop Heber's Exchange Projects

Bishop Heber High School is fortunate to have links with schools all over Europe and in America. As a result of this in 1997 pupils from our school have participated in exchanges with Monza in Italy, Trebur in Germany and Valdepeņas in Spain, in addition our European links have enabled pupils to take part in Euroscola which took place in Brussels and Strasbourg.
The Italian exchange is different to other exchanges because it involves a weeks work experience in placements such as, primary schools, travel agents, newspaper publishers, art studios and libraries. It is an opportunity for English students to sample the working culture and family life of a foreign nation.
The students stayed in Monza which is very near to the large city of Milan and visited the Monza Grand Prix track, L'scala opera house, San Siro Stadium, Milan, Venice, palaces and art museums. The evenings were spent pubbing and clubbing as well as bowling, karaoke and going out for pizza. To end the trip there was a football match between the Italians and the English. The score was 10-9....to the Italians!!

As one of the sixth former's Sarah Williams said, "It's the experience of a lifetime!"

The exchange to Spain is to a large town in the central, wine producing region. The exchange has now been running for four years and it gets better every time. The host families are extremely hospitable and there are always tears on the journey home.
Visits included the biggest windmill in the world, the beautiful lakes of Ruidera, Spanish vineyard, Toledo, famous for it's swords, Alhambra palace in Granada, a real bullring and many other places.
Although the typical foods of Spain are paella and tortilla, the English took a liking to the donuts!! The experience ended with a football match between the two countries where one of the players ended up in a wheelchair with torn ligaments. But the skilled English managed to win 8-3. As you can see from this article Bishop Heber students enjoy travelling and taking part in exchanges and if you're reading this in a school which hasn't experienced it yet- just do it! We guarantee you won't be disappointed.

By: Emma Lewis, Bishop Heber High School