Year 5 and 6 pupils at Goldsborough and Sicklinghall Primary Schools are looking forward to a school trip of a lifetime in February- a week long trip to Bangkok! Pupils will visit their link school, Satit Prasarnmit Demonstration School in central Bangkok and take part in a number of cultural activities which include attending lessons as part of the school’s classes, performing at the Thai National Theatre, visiting the city’s Grand Palace and comparing habitats as part of a visit to a remote island off the coast of Thailand.
This visit forms part of a programme jointly set up by the federation and by Satit Prasarnmit School and follows the hugely successful visit of ten pupils from Bangkok to Goldsborough and Sicklinghall back in May. In total, eleven pupils aged 9-11 from the two local schools will take part in the trip, accompanied by three members of staff. They have been busy preparing for their visit with a little Thai language tuition from visiting staff and by learning to use chopsticks, important when eating out in Bangkok!
The reciprocal visits provide pupils with a wealth of opportunities and experiences that strengthen their cultural understanding and appreciation of different ways of life. Back in May, visiting pupils spent evenings with host families in the Wetherby and Knaresborough areas and enjoyed many of the cultural pleasures that our region has to offer. Similar visits to host families are planned for the visit to Bangkok where friendships, maintained over e-mail since May, will be brought back to life when the pupils meet again. In addition to cultural learning, pupils’ geography and history learning will be enhanced through the activities they will take part in, not least watching plane glide along the world map towards east Asia.
Matt Shillito, Headteacher, Goldsborough and Sicklinghall Schools:
This visit is a once in a lifetime opportunity for our Year 5 and 6 learners. It follows a very successful visit of Grade 6 students from Prasarnmit back in May and the link between our schools has grown from strength to strength as a result. Many of the challenges associated with developing international links have not been present in this link and this is down to the ethos that we share as schools and the commitment of all involved to provide unique and unforgettable learning opportunities for our pupils.
Travelling to Bangkok with a group of primary aged pupils is an exciting prospect- as a team of staff, we feel privileged to share this experience with the pupils, the vast majority of whom will visit Asia for the first time. The cultural learning, personal development and understanding of contrasting locations will be so rich and the visit will be truly unforgettable for all involved.
To say that we are all looking forward to the trip is an understatement- I am told that some pupils have not stopped talking about it since it was first announced as a possibility. They will certainly have a lot to talk about on their return, once they have caught up on sleep and readjusted to the correct time zone!
