G’Day Gowerton. Matthew Flinders Anglican College visits Gowerton

12th October 2013Tour0 comments

Matthew Flinders Anglican College visits Gowerton.

Over the weekend, GowertonSchool played host to a party of 58 14-18 year old students and 8 staff from MatthewFlinders AnglicanCollege from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

The two schools established links in August when Matthew Flinders were one of the schools that hosted Gowerton during their own southern hemisphere tour to Australiaand Hong Kong. The focus of the tour was sport with the two schools playing hockey and netball matches at the Elba sports complex and rugby games at Gowerton RFC on Sunday afternoon.

During their stay, the visiting students and their hosts went to watch the Scarlets v Glasgow Rabo direct PRO 12 game at Parc Y Scarlets. The rest of the weekend gave hosts the opportunity to take their visitors to experience the beauty of the Gower and its surroundings.

Mr Harrison said “Events like this are an important and integral part of the school calendar. We normally host two or three schools from overseas each year and they are much more than just an opportunity for our youngsters to test their skills against others, to experience the thrill of competition and to develop a sense of team by working with others to achieve a common goal.

They also provide an opportunity for all elements of our local community; parents, staff, pupils and local organisations such as sports clubs and local businesses to come together in support of each other.

Importantly for our students, it gives them the chance to develop the wider skills of leadership, self reliance, problem solving and an ability to communicate and inter-relate with others that will be crucial to them in the future as they make their way into adulthood.”

Some of the Gowerton students who hosted commented:

Bethany Davies “I had an amazing experience travelling to Australia. I met some lovely families and it was nice to reciprocate by hosting the girls that I stayed with in Brisbane. I hope they enjoyed their weekend as much as I did!”

Ella Carroll, Betany Davies, Alex McLean and Taylor Russell.

Alycia Carpanini “The best thing about being hosted was that you got to see much more than you would have done normally if you stayed in a hotel. Hosting them here has given me the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends.”

Lucy Molloy, Alycia Carpanini and Renee Wakley

Jessica Rees “I really enjoyed hosting and seeing people I had met while I was on tour. It was great to be able to show them around the area that we live. I hope to meet up with them again soon.”

Eliza Blenkin, Jessica Rees and Keira Moore.

Rhodri Tyrrell “The best thing about hosting was the new friendships we were all able to make. I think I will be ‘friends for life’ with many of them.”

Rhodri Tyrrell, Toby Mungomery, Mitchell Elks and Steffan Tyrrell.

Scott Smith “Being hosted by Matthew Flinders was an amazing experience. The best part was visiting Gardners Falls and making so many new friends.”

Jack Fitzgerald, Scott Smith and Callum James.

Katy Baran “The best thing about hosting was being able to take the visitors to my favourite places in Swansea. We took them to Joe’s ice cream parlour, which they loved. The said they would never forget their stay in Swansea.”

Katy Baran with Emily Chester, Amy Price and Chloe Earle.

Sarah Wedlake “The best thing about being hosted in Australiawas to experience the local cultures and to make new friends. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I will always remember it.”