Our Sport Exchange Programme returned this year, with Shebbear College teaming up with Canberra Grammar School for a reciprocal exchange. Shebbear students Lily, Darcey and Beth in Lower Sixth travelled to Canberra in July and met up with Amelia, Sophie, Niamh and Madelyn who they went to school with before returning to the UK later in August. Their exchange students have now joined Shebbear College for the first half of the Michaelmas term!

The exchange is offered to pupils in Form 5 each year and is an absolutely fantastic experience for all involved! This year we have all girls going, but it is open to girls and/or boys. You can read more here.

Lily gave us a summary of her experience:

"The Australian exchange was a once in a lifetime opportunity. For 6 weeks we stayed with families who we had never met before and were shown around the beautiful landscapes of Australia. I loved the fact that not only did we become tourists in a new country, we also became part of the families we were staying with, doing and experiencing life with them.

There were many opportunities for exploring Canberra and even a week in Sydney where we got to see the iconic Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge too. We also had the opportunity to attend Question Time at the Australian Parliament's House of Representatives and even got a wave from the Australian Prime Minister! 

For five of the weeks we had the opportunity to attend Canberra Grammar School, becoming part of the 1,500 students there, and joining in with different lessons and activities. It was great to experience a larger school community as Shebbear is a lot smaller. We found out for ourselves the pros and cons of both larger and smaller communities.

I would highly recommend not only the Australian exchange but all the other amazing trips and exchanges that get offered at Shebbear. You learn so much from getting out into the world and experiencing new things."