Visit to Wellington School in Ayr, Scotland

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Mr. Simon Johnson and Mr. Simon Feštanj with Mrs. Lily Schweiger Kotar at Wellington School

The headmaster of the Diocesan Classical Gymnasium Simon Feštanj paid his first visit with Alenka Battelino and Lily Schweiger Kotar to Wellington School in Ayr. We were very kindly taken care of by all the staff, especially Wellington headmaster Mr Simon Johnson and international coordinator Mrs Susan Coontz. A two-day visit (5th and 6th October 2017) was fruitful in terms of getting to know the Scottish education system better and learning a lot about what Wellington school is all about. Wellington is the only independent school in Ayrshire that provides an excellent all-round education for the young aged 3 to 18. It consists of the Nurseries, The Junior and The Senior School, which include about 600 students all together. We were happy to witness at every step what excellent and supportive environment for learning the school offers. Small classes, motivated students and teachers, a wide range of academic subjects and opportunities for extracurricular activities all contribute to fruitful results in academic field and life in general. One of the most interesting aspects of the visit was definitely lesson observation of which outdoor experiments in physics were absolutely demonstrative and informative. The unarguable highlight of the visit was a school show Les Miserables, which was performed by students from S1 – S6 (aged 12-17) and was absolutely stunning in terms of singing, acting and general stage presence. What a wonderful theatrical evening and a great display of talents! Well done Wellington school!

It’s ten years since the exchanges between both schools started and we trust the fruitful cooperation will continue in the future. The first opportunity is the student Erasmus + mobility Eurostronomia in April 2018.  About 40 students from eight countries will join us at St. Stanislav’s Institution to break the ice.

The report cannot be concluded without mentioning the weather in Scotland –well, no dreich* weather this time. /Lily Schweiger Kotar/

*Scottish – dreary; bleak