On Thursday, 26th June, Highcliffe School hosted an International Day with students from our partner schools—Schubart-Gymnasium in Germany and Colegio Nuestra Señora de la Merced in Spain. 

Schubart-Gymnasium is located in Aalen, a town twinned with Christchurch. The event brought together 41 German students, 6 Spanish students, and 12 Highcliffe students, representing a diverse range of nationalities including German, Welsh, English, Polish, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Mexican, Spanish, and French. 

Students took part in a variety of activities, including: 

• Presentations about their respective schools 
• Discussions comparing different school systems 
• Group quiz challenges 
• Baking traditional English scones 
• Friendly handball games 

It was truly heartwarming to see how quickly friendships formed. Students enjoyed lunch together under the tree on our school field and embodied a shared spirit of cultural exchange—promoting a positive, inclusive vision of a multicultural and global community. 

This special day also strengthened the exciting twinning work that has been developing between Christchurch and Aalen, building meaningful connections between our communities. 

 Mr Maurice   

Message from the German teachers: 

Going on a school trip to England had been on our bucket list for a very long time. With the help of the Twinnig Association in Christchurch we were finally able to realize that dream, and we are very grateful that John Maurice invited us to spend a day at Highcliffe School as part of our trip. Our students were amazed by the size of the school and enjoyed spending time with some English and Spanish students. Our day at Highcliffe School was the perfect mix of exchanging information about differences and similarities between the school systems, having fun baking scones and playing handball together. Thank you again for welcoming us with open arms! We had a wonderful time and are looking forward to coming back again soon! Bettina Schoenherr, Christina Maier and Birgit Ladel.