Sophie has been part of the team for eight years and currently leads our European programmes. Alongside working closely with European partner schools participating in our UK school immersion programmes, she also supports the homestay team, playing a key role in student and host allocations and programme preparation to ensure hosts have all the information they need ahead of each visit. What Sophie loves most about her role is the personalised nature of everything we do — from tailoring school itineraries for visiting groups, to carefully matching students with the right host families, and sharing personal messages and feedback between students and hosts. She believes it’s these thoughtful details that make each experience truly meaningful. One of Sophie’s favourite parts of the job is hearing what’s happening in host households once programmes are underway. After all the planning, seeing photos of shared meals, language learning moments, students exploring their local area and growing in confidence — and knowing the lasting impact these experiences have — is incredibly rewarding. Sophie began working with Global School Exchanges as a university student in 2017, helping to coordinate UK school programmes during her summer holidays. She’s proud to still be part of such a motivated, dedicated and ambitious team, and is especially excited to be welcoming visiting French school groups to the UK.