THE REPORT ON THE TRIP TO LONDON OF THE GROUP OF STUDENTS AND TEACHERS FROM PRIMARY SCHOOL NO 25 FROM RZESZOW (December 14-18, 2009)

COMENIUS PROJECT

The group of four students and two teachers representing Primary School No 25 in Rzeszow took part in working visit in London in Villiers High School ( Southall, Ealing) in the frame of Comenius project  “ Cultural and social integration in the context of Euro 2012” from 14 – 18^th December,2009.

1. Aims of the trip

The important aim of the trip was to familiarize the Polish students with the popular British sports disciplines, places associated with the essential sports events in London as well as the ways of promoting sports at schools. The aim was also to popularize the Olympic Games which will soon be held in London.

Another significant goal was to show the students the need of arriving in order to understand various societies, cultures and religions which coexist at British school and  the surrounding area.

During the visit at the cooperating school and the students’ meetings, the participants of the trip had an opportunity of making the acquaintance with the functioning of the English school. What is more, the Polish students saw many places establishing the symbols of the British culture and sighted the everyday life of the metropolis. The Polish students could also improve their English language skills.

2. The aims accomplishment

During the visit at Villiers High School the British students presented some general information about their school, curriculums of different school subjects, national exams and all the advantages of attending their school. A lot of Indian/ Hindu/ students attend Villiers High School. Two Indian/ Hindu/ girls took the Polish group for a walk to show  the most interesting places in Southall, where Indian/ Hindu/ society constitutes the majority. The two Muslim girls wearing traditional Muslim uniforms described their life at school where many religions mingle together. Polish students were told about looking for understanding with other nationalities and religions. Polish students were emphasized that the knowledge of English language is essential for a good start likewise the openness to changes, flexibility and the acceptance of the tolerance rule. Being at Villiers High School, The Polish students participated and observed lessons of foreign languages, science and art, acknowledged the system of the British school year organization and got a lot of educational experiences. Students from Rzeszow asked their colleagues from London many detailed questions concerning their evaluation system, exams, routines of their school, relationships with the other students. Thanks to using the target language during talking, the Polish students had an opportunity of improving their language skills.

Taking into account the topic of the project /sport  and culture/ during educational visits together with British students, Polish group visited the Wembley Stadium, where Poles associated with the famous match of the Kazimierz Gorski’s football team, Wimbledon district and its tennis courts where very important international competition takes place annually. The students got to know the information about the origin of tennis, its historical compilations and the most famous tennis players. During the visit in Madame Tussauds students watched with special interest the wax figures of the famous cricket, rugby and football players, as well as Formula 1 drivers. Owing to the news about the preparations to the Olympic Games in London, children got familiarize with the established course of the sports competitions. The meeting with the students of Villiers High School resulted in familiarizing the Polish students and teachers with the ways of conducting sports lessons in typical British schools and with the most popular sports disciplines and sports celebrities in Britain.

The possibility of seeing places known as the symbols of British culture was a very important part of cultural educational trips around London. As the most absorbing students considered the following events:

1. ·               the visit in Madame Tussauds,
2. ·               the surprising show of Tower Bridge raising,
3. ·         the end of the guard standing of the Queen’s Life Guard.

The participants of the working visit to London will also remember:

·         Buckingham Palace and the parks surrounding it,

·         the Tower of London with the crown jewels,

·         the Houses of Parliament with the famous Big Ben clock,

·         amazing London Eye,

·         the river Thames, which banks are “fastened together” by so many bridges,

·         St Paul’s Cathedral,

·         the Sherlock Holmes Museum,

·         Hyde Park with the incredible occasional Winter Wonderland,

·         the efficient, precise and punctual London underground system – the Tube.

3. The results achieved

Thanks to the working visit the participants:

·   broadened their knowledge concerning popular sports disciplines in Britain,

·   learned how to overcome the language obstacles and the cultural differences in their everyday lives,

·   got to know the British educational system and the system of British school organization,

·   established friendly relationships with the students of Villiers High School,

·   improved their English language skills in London reality,

·   after coming back to Poland students prepared some projects and presentations which they introduced to their colleagues during lessons,

·   the teachers and students prepared posters presenting the working visit,

·   the teachers gathered many original teaching aids which will certainly improve and diversify the study during the lessons of English in Polish school,

It was  a very beneficial working visit both for the students and teachers of Poland and England.