A Global Exchange for Two Groton Students

While Groton has welcomed many students from other countries, and has sent numerous students overseas on global education trips, this is the School’s first true exchange, with two girls from Bedales arriving tomorrow to spend the month on the Circle. 

 

Groton sophomores Abby Power ’17 and Christine Bernard ’17 both said they were looking forward to learning in a different culture. “I applied for this because I wanted to have the opportunity to go to school in a different country and experience daily life there,” said Abby.

 

Christine and Abby will be continuing their studies in England, both in the classrooms at Bedales and independently. "For our students to be able to participate in and learn from a culture different from ours and see firsthand the functioning of another institute of excellence is quite a privilege,” said Groton’s Director of Global Education Nishad Das.

 

The students were chosen for the exchange after a careful selection process that included a written application, interviews with a global education faculty subcommittee, meetings with Groton's deans, and consultation with the students’ advisors. 

To prepare, both girls attended “academic preseason,” arriving early (along with Groton’s preseason athletes) and working closely with teachers who pushed them ahead so they would not suffer academically from the month away. “This required taking two-hour-long classes of both math and science for a week before School, and being given one to two hours of work for each class,” Christine said. “The work was very fast-paced; we covered about a month’s worth of material in a week.”

 

Groton looks forward to welcoming the Bedales students to campus for the next month and introducing them to the community at Roll Call Thursday morning.