It's not all work and no play at Chilton. Opportunities to extend experiences beyond the classroom are everywhere.
“In the July holidays MacKenzie Dyer and I went to Singapore for three weeks, on a school exchange with Nanyang Girls High School. There were four other exchange girls there at the same time as us, two from Christchurch and two from England. None of us had ever been so far from home before. Staying in a Boarding School was a new experience that had its challenges – rice with every meal and lizards walking around our heads at night! The school language is English but the days were completely different, an Assembly every morning at 7.30am and then lessons. We had two home stay sisters Ade and Mi Yeon. We shared amazing experiences, inside jokes and most importantly we made friends with people from the other side of the world. We visited many tourist attractions, like the zoo, bird gardens, night safari, Sentosa and lots of shops. The trip was an amazing experience that we will never forget. “
Russell Gilling, 10Be
“To say we had a great time in Japan is a definite understatement, to say it was one of the most amazing life changing experiences we would ever get, is closer to the truth. A group of five of us – Denise Chow, Abbie Hening, Elizabeth Lee, Selina Reichert and I, travelled to Japan for a 12 day cultural visit, staying at Reitaku Mizunami High School.
“It took us nearly twenty hours to get to Japan, stopping at Auckland and Narita Airport before finally flying into Nagoya – shopping of course wherever we could! The first shock was the heat! We spent our first night in the school’s hotel, equipped with air-conditioning and slept for only 5 hours! First among the many differences was the food. Rice with every meal, and there was no such thing as fresh fruit or vegetables! And we had to use chopsticks for everything – a slight challenge for us! School was another story all together, starting at 8.45 and finishing at 4.15 with no such thing as morning or afternoon tea! The only recognisable things in our lessons were the numbers in maths class and the 25 words of English they spoke in English class!
"One of the most enjoyable times would have to have been pottery; we spent 2 hours trying to craft bowls, getting clay everywhere, while the teacher had it all over and done with within 10 minutes! Dorm life was again a totally different experience – getting up as soon as the bell rings, compulsory stretching and cleaning, eating breakfast together in the cafeteria, kneeling on the floor (in excruciating pain) during evening meetings, and having dreaded ‘communal baths’. Still, we became great life-long friends with the people in our dorms! The time went so quickly and before we knew it, it was time to leave!
“The time we spent in Japan is something we are never going to forget and if there were a chance, we would all go back again!”
Natasha Reid, 10Ml
“Tokyo is one of the biggest cities in the world. All around you are immersed in the modern Japanese youth culture of manga magazines, anime films, J-pop music, gaming, fashion, and karaoke. We got to experience it all in 13 amazing fun filled and exhausting days. We felt so privileged to be the first Chilton Saint James girls to experience this exchange and we were excited about the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the Japanese culture. Throughout the trip, we were homestayed by two students attending St. Dominic’s Girl’s High School. We lived in their home for the 13 days and attended school with them.
“St Dominic’s is similar to Chilton. Though our Japanese language skills are very basic, a large number of the students spoke and understood English well and we were expected to speak English which made it much easier. Even the lessons were a lot of fun.
“Tokyo is definitely a city that never sleeps. It is vibrant and full of life 24/7. We had great opportunities to experience all the culture, both traditional and modern and we loved it. We visited Disneyland Tokyo, Harajuku Street, Ginza, Shibuya, Shinto temple, Tokyo Tower, and so many other places. The shops are huge and the anime merchandise unbelievable.
“We feel very honoured to have been given to opportunity to be the first to represent Chilton on this exchange and we would absolutely recommend Chilton girls to go on this trip in 2011.”
Lucie Gordon, 12BT and Charlotte Gordon, 10DK