Orphan school links with French counterpart
Pupils at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School can look forward to more opportunities to practice their French in future. The Reigate based state boarding school is ‘twinning’ with a state boarding school in France L’Ecole des Pupilles de L’Air. The arrangement will enable pupils from both schools to have ‘exchange’ visits to help develop their language skills. The Schools share many aspects of their history. The Royal Alexandra and Albert School was originally an orphanage, and the French school was set up to educate the orphans from the French Air Force. Both are boarding schools so the visiting pupils can stay in the school boarding houses. Interestingly, the French school’s Headmaster is a serving officer in the French Air Force.
The Headmaster of the French school, Colonel Jean-Xavier Chabane, visited the Royal Alexandra and Albert School and attended the Founders’ Day service in the School Chapel on 10th May. During the service Paul D Spencer Ellis, Headmaster of the Royal Alexandra and Albert School presented Colonel Chabane with a shield bearing the school’s crest.
French A Level students had their first opportunity to test their French speaking skills on Friday when they made a presentation, in French, to Colonel Chabane and his wife. Following the presentation they had lunch with their guests and compared notes on the British and French systems for education.
Headmaster Paul D Spencer Ellis commented “It has been a pleasure to welcome Colonel Chabane and his wife to this School and we have identified many opportunities for pupils from both our schools to develop their language skills as well as enhancing their understanding of another culture. We look forward to developing strong ties with our counterparts in L’Ecole des Pupilles de L’Air over the coming years.”
12th May 2014
