Romford school welcomes South Africa exchange
Exchange students from South Africa at Bower Park Academy in Romford - Credit: Archant
A handful of South African exchange students and their teachers landed in Heathrow last week for a 10 day tour of London.
Staff from Bower Park Academy in Havering Road, Romford, welcomed the Manenberg High School students and their teachers off the 12 hour flight and brought them back for a celebration lunch.
The Bower Park students made colourful banners to welcome their friends to Romford after being so kindly looked after during their trip to South Africa last year.
Manenberg’s school principal, Thurston Brown, said: “We have built between our two schools a partnership that goes from strength to strength.
“A partnership that is equal and has a shared global vision in a multicultural world.”
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The high school is in Cape Flats, an extremely deprived area of Cape Town, and the trip was funded by the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms project.
Bower Park has a strong and recognised programme which tries, wherever possible, to enable its students to experience international travel.
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The school also has full International School Award status.
Eddie Aylett, the assistant headteacher and global leader at Bower Park, has coordinated the visit for the South African guests.
During their 10 day stay they visited Central London and Brighton and were treated to a trip to see Memphis, a full scale production in the West End.
The Bower Park students have been housing their Manenberg counterparts throughout the stay and accompanying them on trips, including a revision session in school during the Easter holidays.
The South African students also brought traditional gifts from Cape Town to present to their Romford friends.
Bower Park’s students have been commended for their hospitality and support of the visiting school.
Headteacher, Mary Morrison, said: “We work hard at Bower Park Academy to ensure our pupils are part of a modern multicultural Britain and they have done us proud during this trip.”
