News Detail
Going Global
Eight Grade 10 students are preparing to broaden their horizons early in the new year as they depart for schools in the southern hemisphere as part of Shawnigan’s Global Exchange Program.
The program is extremely successful this year, with roughly twice as many students participating as have in recent years. Three students are heading to St. Margaret’s School in Queensland, Australia, two are going to Canberra Grammar School in Australia, two are going to Hilton College in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and one is heading to Waikato Diocesan in Hamilton, New Zealand. Most of the programs are six weeks in duration, with the exception of the New Zealand exchange, which is four weeks.
Students who participate in the program join their hosts for classes, sports, and other school activities. They stay in boarding houses or host homes, depending on the school they are visiting, and join their host students and their families for weekend activities.
“It’s exactly like being at school here, except that you are in a different country,” explains Mrs. Chelsea Russell, who leads the Global Exchange Program.
Because Shawnigan students are on tourist visas, they are not getting marks in the classes they attend, but they are expected to keep up with their courses at Shawnigan to a certain degree, and the host schools will often reserve a block for them to do homework. The academic experience they get at the host school will be comparable to what they get here, but still unique.
“Some of the classes are things we wouldn’t have here,” Mrs. Russell says, noting that Waikato Diocesan has a course where students design clothing from recycled materials. “There are neat opportunities to do things they wouldn’t have exposure to here.”
The exchange program is completely reciprocal, so the host students from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa will spend a few weeks at Shawnigan later in the school year. They will spend most of their time with their exchange partner – staying in their boarding houses, joining their advisor groups, and attending classes, sport, and 360. Exchange students wind up making lifelong friendships, and they aren’t limited to their partners – often they develop connections throughout the boarding houses where they stay.
Participation in the Global Exchange Program is limited to Grade 10 students, which corresponds with "choose" being the focus of the Grade 10 stage of the Shawnigan Journey, and allows them to broaden their horizons as they move into Grade 11 and 12 and start preparing university applications. The Shawnigan students who take part this year will present to next year’s Grade 10 class about their experiences in the program and encourage them to take part.
Separate from these exchanges, Shawnigan also offers shorter annual exchanges with schools in France and Japan, and facilitates gap year opportunities with schools in Nepal and Australia.
Please click here for more information about Shawnigan’s exchange programs.
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful Pacific Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
