“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

The SAI Global Immersion Programme (GIP) to United Kingdom was conducted from June 8 to 18, 2019. Twelve students along with two Teacher Coordinators visited places like Gloucester, Bath, London and Oxford.

The team had a great learning experience interacting with students and teachers from Churchdown Village Infant School (CVIS), Chosen Hill School (CHS), Welton Primary School, Norton Hill School and Latymer Upper School. During the 10-day trip, the students indulged in various school activities, visited places of interest, explored local market, boat ride on river Thames, visited the famous Oxford University as well as got an insight about the local culture and tradition of the various places.

At CHS, the SAI students shadowed a student from the host school and attended various classes. They also showcased three different projects like, Beyond Curriculum, Teens have Wings and Climate Change and also briefed the CHS students about the climate change scenario of India as well as spoke about their respective schools.

At CVIS, the visiting students had a wonderful time interacting with the little students and going for a guided tour of the school. Later the team visited the Gloucester Quays, followed by a visit to the Gloucester Rugby ground which is one of the largest of its kind in the country and the supermarket “Asda”.

At Welton Primary School, the SAIoneers presented the costumes of different states of India and made a presentation of their Mother land and the SAI Schools. They also introduced Sher Khan, the Globe Trotter and shared his travel plan. They had a great time playing with the students in the beautiful school playground and presenting their project ‘Mind your Money’. In the presentation, they answered questions about India and its currency. It was followed by a story telling session, where SAI students narrated stories about Sher Khan.

At Norton Hill School, the SAIoneers shared a thought-provoking presentation on Climate Change and Global Warming along with sharing some common ways to address the issue. Later, they shadowed the students from the UK School, learnt about their schedules and got a guided tour of the school. The young team also conducted the project “Teen have Wings” for the Year 9 class, where students from both the schools shared some vital issues faced by young teenagers in India and UK. The students also conducted the project “Beyond Curriculum – collaborative poetry writing”, where they learnt about various kinds of poetry writing, including forms like haiku and acrostic poems. They also attended classes on Music, Language and Geography.

At Latymer Upper School, students from both schools shared about their school system and activities. Students from the British School gave an amazing school tour, which was a real learning experience for the SAI students. The students also had an enriching interactive session with the School Management team.

Apart from that, the students had a great time visiting historical monuments and places of tourist interest like Roman Bath Abbey, London Eye, Madame Tussauds, Shrek Adventure as well as a City tour of London on a hop on hop off bus. They were delighted to witness the Change of Guard ceremony and the Royal Cavalry parade at the Buckingham Palace. They visited important colleges like Trinity, Balliol etc during their visit to Oxford University.

Global Immersion Programme (GIP) is one such endeavor that provides a unique learning experience for the students, bringing in a significant impact in their knowledge repository and tuning their mind-set to adapt the universal learning experience. It is an excellent method to instill independent thinking and bestow in them the confidence to build their dreams and goals. In this programme, students in group guided by mentors visit a foreign country to get a glimpse of their academia, culture and get a myriad understanding of the country. They visit various acclaimed educational Institutes to get a real-life experience of their teaching-learning process, tour renowned Universities to understand the various programs and process of admission and free structure.