Beyond the classroom


Whilst a great deal of learning takes place within the ESOL classrooms, so much happens beyond them too.


Our international students are seen as valuable members of the community who are welcomed, integrated and appreciated. The ESOL Department does all it can to help this process and to support the students in making new friends, trying new hobbies and participating fully in extra-curricular activities.


In recent times our international students have represented the school in various sports (including the highly successful basketball team) taken part in school plays (both acting and carrying out roles behind the scenes), performed in music concerts and represented the school in various science and maths challenges.


Many students play an active role in the boarding house or on school committees in addition to mentoring new students and ensuring they are welcomed and make friends quickly.


Although we expect our students to integrate fully in the wider school, we do have an ESOL Educational Excursion every term, where we visit local places of cultural interest as a closed group. (The common language on the excursion will be English and it is worth noting that the experience our students gain by communicating in English with other non-native speakers is invaluable and can often provide them with advantages over native speakers.)


We believe it is important to understand the culture that goes with the


Hamid arrived at Sibford with little English, but two years later starred as Theseus in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.


language and so these excursions form a key part of our courses and help the students gain deeper understanding as well as space for personal reflection and sharing of their own cultures.


Recent excursions have included: Warwick Castle, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Blenheim Palace, Warner Brothers Studio Tour (Harry Potter), The Lion King (musical in London’s West End), Oxford University and our annual trip to a local Chinese restaurant to celebrate Chinese New Year.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12