Students at Collège George Sand from the Grenoble area in France and students at Haygrove School worked for a year on a cross-curricular project encompassing geography (environment, geology) and history (legend of King Arthur and the Round Table).
During the visit to France, groups of students produced a film giving feedback about the benefits of the exchange and they also captured the epic (bilingual!) rowing session they all took part in on Lake Annecy.
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Throughout the exchange, students in both schools became much more autonomous, confident and open-minded.
'I loved this exchange. We went on some amazing trips. It was interesting working with Haygrove, learning English, finding out about lessons that we don't have in France, wearing the uniform. I had a lot of fun with my exchange partner and her family. I am thrilled to have been able to go on this exchange.' (Coline, George Sand)
Teachers also got a lot out of the partnership by taking the time to observe the classes and teaching practices of their colleagues and returning to their school with new lesson ideas:
'The history teacher who spent a week Haygrove was able to compare the different approaches and practices. She noticed that written work is less important than other skills such as problem-solving, team work, research and creativity. She is in the process of thinking about another marking system to take into account these skills. She has also put in place certain practices; for example, role-play in a sequence on the First World War - students play British soldiers, German soldiers, journalists etc.'