TRISTAN HOCKING-BROWN PERFORMS WITH STUDENTS FROM ETON COLLEGE, ENGLAND.
Rich experiences in a variety of cultures
Through international school partnerships, boys are equipped with understanding of other cultures and views.
Scotch’ s student exchange program involves schools across four continents, with Scotch boys this year experiencing different cultures and schools in India, South Africa, the United Kingdom and USA. Each school offered the boys a unique experience, gaining them an understanding of how schools operate in other countries.
Students from our exchange partners also attended Scotch, and were hosted by Scotch families or lived on the Hill. All boys were at Scotch for at least four weeks, and got to experience different aspects of Scotch and Australian life. Many thanks go to the Scotch host families who provided a fantastic experience for our international students.
Here are the impressions of five Scotch boys who participated in the exchange program in 2017.
MATT MONAGHAN – TIC, STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM
Eton College, UK – Tristan Hocking-Brown( Year 11)
When the opportunity arose to visit one of the best-known schools in the world, naturally I was very eager. On first arrival at Eton College, the most apparent difference when compared to Scotch, was the sheer size of the campus. This is largely due to the fact that Eton is of course a boarding school, and the town surrounds the school grounds. The driven tour around the 25 boarding houses and the central hub of the school was an eye-opening experience.
I gradually adapted to life at Eton – the uniform no longer took as long to wear correctly, and I was able to navigate my way through the relevant parts of the school without assistance. I also recognised similarities between our schools. The classroom atmosphere is very similar, the daily routine of assemblies, sport, and co-curricular activities is the same, and the general attitude of the boys towards education is common to both schools. The biggest difference that I noticed was in the number of activities held after regular school hours. Societies all met at about 8.30pm and often ran until 10 o’ clock. The school is constantly vivacious and busy.
Although it is of course impossible to fully experience all aspects of the school in three weeks, I managed to attend a variety of different classes; from Ancient Greek and Latin, to Theology and Economics, to play in two house‘ football’ games, to attend several societies, and to give a piano concert. For the short leave weekend I was fortunate enough to sightsee in London, tour Oxford, and visit Blenheim Palace and Bladon’ s church.
While these were fantastic experiences, the most rewarding part of the exchange was my interactions with other boys. The boys of the house were a very close-knit group, but also incredibly welcoming and inclusive. I’ m extremely grateful for the friendships, and for the unique opportunity to experience the traditional English boarding school that this exchange yielded.
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