International dimensions
As one Scottish school opens in China, Sarah Devine investigates how looking beyond our borders can enrich our education
Student exchanges and overseas trips ensure that pupils are given every chance to develop a natural curiosity and an interest in the world.
Most pupils return from overseas trips with a noticeable boost to their self-confidence and an increased level of maturity, but there are many ways in which international links can benefit the pupil.
Edinburgh’s Merchiston Castle School is to expand to Shenzhen in China in September when it opens a British-style boarding school that will blend western and eastern cultures through an innovative curriculum.
“We’re doing that because we want to export Merchiston Edinburgh,” says Andrew Hunter, the school’s headmaster.
“Unlike our school in Edinburgh, it will be co-educational and will facilitate 1,200 pupils, with boarding for 600 as we are passionate about contemporary boarding.
“Some funds will come back to the home school in Edinburgh and the top priority for those funds is to try and make sure that Merchiston is as accessible as possible to those who otherwise wouldn’t be able to come here.”
Combining cultures enhances an individual’s learning experience and pupils at Kilgraston School in Bridge of Earn have been building relationships with schools as far afield as India where they have been working with pupils at Unison World School in the northern state of Uttarakhand.
“Our girls went out there for the first time this year, which was an amazing experience,” says headmistress Dorothy Macginty.
“The girls actually lived in the school, which is a Hindu school, so that allowed them to look at that their culture and religion, while the girls from the Indian school explored Scotland’s history when they were here.
“There is now a great enthusiasm to continue that with another group of girls going out next October during Diwali, so they will get really immersed in the culture to widen their experience.”
Trips abroad can develop a pupil’s independence and encourage an understanding of responsibility.
At the Compass School in Haddington, P7 pupils spend four days in France away from their parents and learning the language.
“We give them a number of language tasks such as going down to the market to buy ingredients to make their lunch,” says Mark Becher, headmaster at the Compass School.
“They are looking at how to manage themselves such as buying their own food, looking after pocket money and their clothes as well as coping with being away from their parents.”
Pupils at Loretto School in Musselburgh also enjoy regular trips to Europe, however it is not just travelling which can be beneficial to an individual’s learning.
“We have a number of international pupils at the school,” says Graham Hawley, the headmaster.
“I welcome them because I think it’s good to have different nationalities represented as it gives a more cosmopolitan feel in the school.”
St Mary’s School in Melrose also hosts pupils from other countries, including Germany and Spain. “Our pupils get to home in on their English and it helps them to hear their guests speak in their native language,” says headmaster Liam Harvey.
“It really enhances lessons and gives pupils the opportunity to throw themselves into a different culture, which is an enlightening experience.”
Alex Hems at St George’s School in Edinburgh, agrees. “The pupils who visit really enrich the wider experience of the whole community at the school because they are bringing a different cultural dimension.
“We are always exploring connections with other countries and they will work on collaborative learning projects and share their experiences.”
Many schools offer visits to countries around the world, but as school fees continue to rise pupils also benefit from excursions closer to home.
“We offer regular visits abroad but we are conscious of the costs of these and also offer residential trips in the UK which are inevitably less expensive,” says Anna Tomlinson, headmistress of St Margaret’s School in Aberdeen.
“We certainly don’t want our families to feel under pressure to fund expensive foreign trips.”
This year, the school also has a visit to Iceland, an expedition to Namibia and Botswana and there will be a music tour to Prague in the summer next year.
Another international dimension for Scotland’s independent sector is boarding schools, with 31 per cent of Scotland’s boarders coming from overseas.
St Leonards School in St Andrews is the only school in Scotland to have a 100 per cent focus on the International Baccalaureate programme, which is taught in more than 150 countries.
The school has developed a thriving international outlook and has attracted pupils with a total of 27 different nationalities.
“The curriculum is brilliant for giving that international perspective on life,” says Michael Carslaw of St Leonards.
“All our students are very comfortable with other cultures because that is the world.
“The pupils are very curious people and like finding things out and it’s that love of learning that we aim to develop as they will need it later on in life.”
At both Strathallan School in Perthshire and Merchiston 20 per cent of boarders are from abroad.
“The international students keep Merchiston exciting and they renew it because the true Scottish pupil needs to understand the world, they might not be working in Scotland or the UK,” says Hunter.
“International weeks and international student forums, I think, really enrich the pupils’ learning experience as well as the whole school.”
The pupils who visit really enrich the wider experience of the whole community