School Exchange Programmes
Enhancing the skills, knowledge and values to succeed in today’s interconnected world, and become globally aware citizens
GSE facilitates visits between UK primary, junior, secondary schools, Colleges, Universities with a range of schools throughout the world and often during the academic year. Such visits create a real buzz of excitement within a school; students discover more about other cultures and lifestyles, practise their language, teamwork and communication skills, and learn about being a welcoming host.
A GSE In-School Coordinator is present throughout to support the visiting pupils and ensure the smooth running of the programme.
GSE is passionate about removing barriers to internationalisation activities, and making global exchange accessible to all. By hosting a visiting school group your school will build credits to put towards reciprocal exchange activities, for example a school trip or staff participation in an overseas Leadership Delegation or Conference.
Global School Exchanges
Primary or Junior School Exchanges
Secondary School Exchanges
Expectations of the UK Host School
- To allocate a key point of contact for all programme preparation & liaison
- Brief all school staff about the visiting students in advance
- Deliver a Welcome Ceremony/Assembly
- Identify students to ‘buddy’ with the visiting stude
- Allocate a ‘base room’ to be used before school, at lunch time, and after school
- Introduce visiting teacher(s) to relevant staff, and show them the Staff Room
- Deliver a Closing Ceremony/Assembly with certificates (provided by GSE)
- To allocate a key point of contact for all programme preparation & liaison
- Brief all school staff about the visiting students in advance
- Deliver a Welcome Ceremony/Assembly
- Identify students to ‘buddy’ with the visiting stude
- Allocate a 'base room' to be used before school, at lunch time, and after school
- Introduce visiting teacher(s) to relevant staff, and show them the Staff Room
- Deliver a Closing Ceremony/Assembly with certificates (provided by GSE)
Support from GSE
“My buddy is called Emily, she is from a city near Shanghai.”
“She is staying in our school for one week and sits next to me during lessons.”
Pre-Arrival
Before the visiting group arrives, we meet with you and other key staff to prepare you for the programme, provide visiting student information, and issue resources to help your school prepare for cultural differences, etiquette, and practical information for the visit.
Where helpful, templates for the Welcome Ceremony, Closing Ceremony and various lesson plans are issued. A range of planning, safety, and lesson resources are available within our Exchange Toolkit (link).
If the visiting teachers and students stay with local host families, GSE manages all the safeguarding requirements, including DBS checks, references and home visits.
During the Visit
A GSE In-School Coordinator will be present within your school for the duration of the programme.
Our staff’s role is to oversee the visiting group, provide support where needed, and liaise with UK teaching staff to ensure that the timetable runs smoothly.
They’ll register and welcome the visiting students at the beginning of the day, supervise throughout and answer questions where needed, be present to remind the visiting teachers of school policies, run after school activities, and ensure safe departure at the end of the day.
Post-Visit
Feedback & Monitoring is implemented to review the success of a visit and ensure that continues improvement is implemented.
“Everyone here has been so so nice… I am surprised how much the British students want to help us, and talk to us, and ask us questions”
Shaun
Student from Wuxi Foreign Language School
Sister-School Partnerships
Countries: UK, China, India, Europe
A sister school partnership is a meaningful and reciprocal long-term agreement between two schools. It enables them to:
- Deepen their global learning and engagement
- Expose their students to different countries and cultures build global citizenship
- Build intercultural capabilities and critical thinking of their students, teachers and communities
GSE works closely with clients to develop clear objectives and outcomes for each Sister-School partnership, and carefully match schools which share mutual goals. School Leadership will typically sign an MoU, setting out their goals for the partnership, which may include student exchanges, joint collaborative projects and leadership delegations.
“The visit gave our students an opportunity to integrate with pupils from a different country and a chance for them to become teachers and help them with the lessons that we were doing, as well as an opportunity to work on their patience, tolerance and communication skills. On the whole, the immersion experience provided was of a very high standard.”
