'Bosco Buddies' welcome their visitors from China

St John Bosco Arts College, Croxteth, has welcomed a delegation of Chinese students to their city for a cultural exchange.

Students from its sister school, Wenzhou No.2 Foreign Language School visited Liverpool for a three-day trip which saw them take part in a whole host of activities. This trip follows St John Bosco's visit to Wenzhou in February 2017 to begin their exciting cultural partnership.

St John Bosco Arts was selected as an ambassador school by Access China UK, an organisation which funds school partnerships in China and promotes the exchange of ideas through different international programmes.

Both St John Bosco and the Chinese Education Bureau are passionate about widening the horizons of the young people in its care and providing opportunities for students to gain a greater understanding of each other's cultures.

While in Liverpool, the Wenzhou students were paired with a "Bosco Buddy" and experienced all aspects of British classroom life, which included taking part in music and drama lessons, playing football at the school's £1 million football hub and helping St John Bosco students learn Mandarin.

St John Bosco Arts College introduced Mandarin to the curriculum in September 2016 and currently offers the language to 20 Year 7 students. Sixth form students can also learn the language as part of their Enrichment programme.

Students rounded off their visit by taking part in a whole school liturgy and enjoying traditional afternoon tea.

Headteacher, Darren Gidman said: "It was a pleasure to welcome students from Wenzhou to St John Bosco after our successful trip earlier this year. This visit continues our exciting partnership and gave us the opportunity to share some of our British values and experiences with the students.

By forging international links and promoting Mandarin, this programme is really improving our students' learning and developing them into global leaders."

Text and Photos: Hannah Fowler, The Foundry Agency