Cranford Review / March_2018

Internationalism
Japan
Avon Tyrell Activity Centre, Bransgrove,
New Forest 8th-13th August 2017
The
sun was shining as we set off from
Cranford for our first joint activity
week with students from the very prestigious
Keio University Junior High School in Tokyo. As
we drove further into the New Forest, there were
concerns about how far we were from anywhere,
especially as the mobile signal dropped. Avon
Tyrell is a beautiful rambling house, built in 1891
in grounds covering 65 acres. Interestingly, the
house has 365 windows, 52 rooms, 12 chimneys,
7 outer doors and 4 wings (does that remind
you of anything?). The house was entrusted
to the Youth of the Nation and opened as a
centre in July 1949. 10 Cranford students from
years 9 and 10 led by 2 year 12 students were
accommodated alongside their Japanese peers
in large rooms with up to 10 beds. All meals
were taken together in the self-service canteen
downstairs and international interaction was the
name of the game. Through games, activities and
visit, the groups bonded and firm friendships
were fostered.
Some of the activities were challenging – the
high ropes were a major success as was the raft
building, canoeing, archery, low ropes, trust
walks (where the group is blindfolded except
for the leader) and the visits to Stonehenge,
Visit by our Korean
partner
school
Once
again the Ocheon Senior High School
from Pohang in South Korea paid us
a welcome visit but unusually they chose to come in
December. The upside of this timing meant they saw
London at its Christmas best. Every school day, the
Korean students visited a wide range of year 12 lessons,
where possible with their Cranford email pen pals. This
proved very popular with both students and staff, with
the Korean students involving themselves in the learning.
A particular hit with our friends from Pohang was drama,
where they were thrown into an improvisation on “fake
news”. Alongside their Cranford experience, they were
accompanied by our students to Central London and
Oxford. The group enjoyed their evening of musicals
– choosing either Phantom of the Opera or Aladdin and
swept around the London Eye at dusk to see London,
beautifully lit up. Plans are well ahead for a return visit
by Cranford to Korea in October 2018.
“The Korean students were very enthusiastic and I enjoyed
working with them”.
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“They would bow and shake hands as a thank you to allow them
to be a part in the school”.