Over February half-term a group of teenagers from Teesdale School and Sixth Form College took part in a Joint Curriculum Russian Immersion programme in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Teesdale School and Hummersknott Academy travelled together on this trip to sample Russian culture, practice their Russian in preparation for their GCSE examinations in the summer, and experience a real Russian winter!
The Russian immersion programme was organized by Teesdale and Hummersnott’s partner school – School 639-which is classified as a Unesco School. In recent years School 639 has been awarded best school in Saint Petersburg five times, which made in an excellent choice of school for our British students to visit.
Teesdale School has had strong links with Russia over several years and now offers Russian up to GCSE level as an extra-curricular option. This project was especially designed to give our young people a personal experience and confidence to work in an international context by developing interpersonal and communicational skills.
Some Teesdale students had a chance to learn Russian from scratch by taking specially organized lessons and by living with Russian families where they could experience daily Russian family routine and their hosts’ renowned friendship and hospitality.
Pupils also experienced trips to the world famous Hermitage Museum, The Marinsky Ballet Theatre and took part in a Russian Royal Dance Workshop. However, they also had to endure average temperatures of -20, as Russia is having one of its coldest winters for years!
Caitlin Brennan, Year 11 student commented, “Russia was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me,” and Fay Pickering, also Year 11 said, “I definitely made a good friend on this trip-my host family was lovely and very welcoming.” All students had a memorable and positive experience and both parents and students felt that the trip had been a great success.
Julie and Colin Gilbert, parents of a Year 11 student at Teesdale commented, “Ellen thought her trip to Russia was absolutely fantastic!!. She enjoyed all the arranged activities and was pleased with her host family who were friendly, welcoming, and very enthusiastic about showing her the sights of St Petersburg. She enjoyed trying the different types of food and even brought some home for us to try. Overall we feel this experience for Ellen was amazing not only for the different cultural aspects but also for her own self confidence/independence.”
Mr Michael Briton, International Schools Co-ordinator at Teesdale said, “We are proud to expand our worldwide partnership and look forward to welcoming Russian students to Teesdale later this year.”
Mrs Marjorie Bedwell, Vice Principal commented, “This trip presents an excellent opportunity for students to improve their language skills and builds on the work that Mrs Beasley has been doing with our talented linguists in Year 11”.
