コロナ禍以降、4年ぶりの短期交換留学訪問再開となり、1月6日(土)から1月20日(土)までの2週間、英国ケンブリッジにある名門パブリックスクールであるリーズスクールに本校生徒5名が訪問してきました。滞在期間中はそれぞれがバディの生徒の家庭にホームステイをしたり、バディが寮生の生徒は一緒に学校寮に滞在してそれぞれの授業に一緒に参加しました。

日本とは違う教育システムの中、英語で物理、数学、芸術、歴史、外国語などの授業に参加し、大きな刺激を受けたようです。週末はロンドンツアーやケンブリッジ散策を通して、文化・歴史に触れる機会にも多く恵まれました。

Wakako

Thank you, my host family, my exchange partner, my roommates, teachers, international support staff, the students in the Leys and all of the people who supported us.

Hello, I'm Wakako. I’m a student of Aoyama Gakuin in Japan. I stayed in the Leys for a couple of weeks as an exchange student. My exchange partner is Natalia. She's a boarder so basically we stayed together in the dorm called Dale House. In Dale House, there are many students from 13 to 18. They're really lovely, friendly, and supported us well. Thank you.

In the Leys, basically I took physics, German, computer science, maths, biology and so on. I was surprised when I took my first lesson there. There are only around 20 students and it helps teachers to support all of the students. I thought the school was massive, and it is surrounded by beautiful nature. It’s different from my school. My school is located in Tokyo, the big city, and is surrounded by many buildings. Also, there are more than 40 students in each lesson. I was a bit nervous at the beginning of this program, however the teachers were really open for everyone, and I was happy because they accepted us warmly. I really appreciate the Leys students because many students helped me when I couldn’t understand the lessons. By the way, in the Leys, there are many students from abroad and school usually helps them to catch up on their lessons. I really admired the studying environment.

After lessons, I did some activities. I took CCF, netball, archery, and cooking. CCF is my most favourite one. In my school there’s no activity like CCF so I was so excited when I took that. It was my very first time to experience that. After activities, basically I stayed in the dorm and chilled, or went to the town and went shopping with my roommates, Rosie and Natalia. Cambridge is a beautiful, classic and comfortable city. I went sightseeing a couple of times in England and my best memories in Cambridge are punting and King's College. First of all, I did punting and enjoyed nature. At that time, it was cold but I enjoyed punting so much. Secondly, on the last night of this program, I participated in the worship of King’s college. The choir was really amazing and the chapel was so massive. In Japan, there are many churches but there are not many chapels or cathedrals like King’s college. It was so beautiful.

Finally, thank you so much for having us as exchange students. Thanks to all of you, I had amazing experiences in England. I will forever be grateful for all your kindness. During two weeks, I learned many things from you. To be honest, it was a bit hard for me to catch up with the lessons in the Leys so I'll keep on trying to improve my English and I really want to come to Cambridge again in the future.


Manoa

Hello, I'm Manoa. I'm a student of Aoyama Gakuin in Japan. I stayed at the Leys for two weeks as a Japanese exchange student. My exchange partner is Pax.

First, I want to say thank you to my host family and friends. When I heard I could attend this program, I was so happy but I was so anxious, but after I met my exchange partner, Pax, I didn’t mind anymore. The reason is that Pax was so kind and clever. I was sure the school he goes to must be a great school. So I was too excited to sleep on the plane!

At the Leys, my favourite class was PE. I did hockey and climbing. I have never played hockey. It was so difficult for me, but it was really fun. Also when I did climbing I was glad some boys talked to me. And when I climbed to a high place, I was not scared, because I was supported by Ryan. Ryan is a good guy, and he likes Japanese songs. When I met him at a cafe we listened to Japanese songs together. I was happy that I could listen to Japanese music with my new English friend!

On weekends, my host family took me to so many places. It was amazing. The London dungeon was especially nice. It was different from Japanese horror houses, so I was very scared. But I cried so much that I felt refreshed!

And I met some great friends. I can not write every one. Ben, Yazen, Daniel, Zack I was happy to play soccer and table tennis. I want to play more with you. Phoebe, Anna and Angelica, I was really happy that you talked with me.

And I want to say that Cambridge is an incredibly beautiful city. There are so many historical buildings. I had never seen such beautiful buildings. Especially, I loved King's College chapel. Inside of the chapel was so impressive. When I entered inside, I thought I was in heaven.

In the house, I played poker and coup with my host family. It was my first time. Pax and his family are nice players. So I always lost the games. If it was a casino, I would have lost everything! But the games were so nice. Thanks to them, I like playing poker and coup. So, I bought poker and coup in Japan. I will become a good poker and coup player!

Finally, I want to say thank you to all of you. I had a wonderful experience in England. During those two weeks, I learned a lot of things. But I wanted to talk to you more. So I'll keep on studying English and I will visit Cambridge again in the near future.

Spending time with friends and host family is my treasure, and I’ll never forget it.

Thank you! See you next time.


Mari

I was so happy to participate in this program. I enjoyed spending time in the Leys and the UK. I appreciated so much about British culture, and I also realized good parts of Japanese culture through this exchange program. I have so many good memories throughout the program.

I was a little nervous when my partner Chloe came to Japan. We had chatted so much through Instagram, but still, I was nervous since that was the first time to invite people to my home and live together for two weeks, and I had no confidence in speaking English. However, after I met Chloe and spent a few hours together, I became completely fine and felt comfortable staying together. We visited some places like Mt.Fuji, Ginza, Disneyland, Shibuya crossing street, etc. After I introduced Japan, I realized many good things about Japan that I had previously thought were ordinary. It was so fun to spend time with Chloe.

When I arrived in the UK, I was delighted. I was looking forward to going to the UK because I have loved Harry Potter since I was 6 years old and I really like the architecture and culture of the UK. My host family took me to many amazing places like Harry Potter Studio, Elle Cathedral, the Wimpole Estate, Covent Garden, and more. It was all amazing and interesting. My host family explained to me about many fascinating cultures and history in the UK and I love all of that. When I went to the Wimpole Estate, I liked seeing many sheep walking there and wondered why there were so many sheep there, because we only see the sheep in the zoo in Tokyo. My host family told me the sheep eat grass instead of people cutting grass. There is no huge farmland in Tokyo, so I enjoyed seeing that.

I also loved the school life in the Leys, which is very different from my school. The buildings were all amazing and I loved the house. Since there is no boarding in my school, the boarding house was a completely new experience for me. I stayed in Fen House, and I love the style of home boarders because they can finish their work at school. I wish my school would have the same system. I love the toast in the house too! Also, the lunch system was very different from my school. In my school, many students bring lunch boxes for lunch, and the other students order foods like ramen and Japanese Katsu curry in the cafeteria.

Teachers brought us to so many great places in London and Cambridge. We went to so many places like London Bridge, the National Museum, the National History Museum, The Fitzwilliam Museum and punting. I loved all of them, and I appreciate the hospitality of the teachers.

In closing, I want to say thank you to Chloe and her family members, teachers and friends at the Leys, and everyone who supported me in this exchange program. It was nice to meet many friends and have a great time in the Leys. This exchange program was a wonderful experience for me. Thank you so much and see you soon.


Kaho

Going to the UK has long been my dream. So I was extremely happy when I received the news that I could participate in the program and I couldn’t wait to go for a long time.

First, I really want to thank Phoebe and her family: my host family. I was so glad that they welcomed me and I could talk a lot with them and thanks to them I could experience a lot of exciting things.

Also I’m grateful to everyone who got involved in the school, particularly the friends: Florence, Angelica, Alicia, Isy, Florrie, Anna, Jemma and many friends I couldn't write here. I couldn't talk to people at first because I wasn’t confident in my English skills. But every friend was so kind and many people talked to me positively. I was really happy about that. I’m also happy I could become such friends enough to still send messages to each other.

In school, it was difficult to attend classes in English, but I was able to find something I could do and engage in the class and had a meaningful time. I want to thank all the teachers who supported me in the lessons and outside activities. Thanks to their support, my stay became so meaningful and exciting. Also, I could play netball and do some club activities. That was my first time to play netball but I really enjoyed it and it’s become my favourite sport! The most impressive club activity was archery. It was also my first time to do archery and it was really exciting.

The places I went during my stay were Cambridge, London and Norfolk. Though London and Norfolk were really good, Cambridge was my favourite. The buildings and colleges were so beautiful and emotional and also I could enjoy shopping. The fusion of the two is the reason I loved it so much. London is a symbol of the UK, and I have always dreamt of going there. I went to a lot of places and really enjoyed sightseeing and shopping. The amount of people and traffic was similar to Tokyo in some ways, which made me feel a little closer to the city. Norfolk was completely different from these two cities. I loved the natural beauty of this place and it was a cleansing feeling. I was fascinated by the natural qualities that I rarely feel in Tokyo.

Lastly, I want to say thank you very much to everyone who helped for my stay. I learned a lot about similarities and differences between Japan and the UK and these made me even more interested in the UK. I encountered some challenges, the biggest of which is English! Therefore, I will keep studying English hard and I promise to improve my English even further and to return to Cambridge for sure!

And I always welcome everyone to Japan, including those who were not involved this time. If you come to Japan, please contact me!

Thank you again.