For some of Carr Hill High School and Sixth Form Centre’s students the final few days of their summer term were a little different to that of others as they jetted off to South Africa on a Sports Tour of a lifetime.
60 students, who are all part of one of the school’s four Sporting Academies (Football, Rugby, Netball and Dance), fundraised for two years to enable to trip happen. The tour included staying with host families, playing matches against schools and clubs in the areas they visited and a game drive.
The 10 day trip, which saw the students staying in areas such as Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Aquila, was designed to give pupils the opportunity to experience different cultures and take pride in their academies.
The students, who were aged between 16 and 18, have been responsible for creating fundraising opportunities over the last two years. They have collectively raised thousands of pounds through multiple raffles, school events and dance off competitions against staff and students.
Year 13 student James, a member of the Football Academy, described South Africa as absolutely brilliant and the best trip he had ever been on. He said: “The whole trip was a culture shock as life is so different in South Africa. I stayed with one host family who lived in a run-down area and then another family who had a mansion with a swimming pool.
“Visiting the townships was a great experience as we got meet local children and sing the national anthem to them which they really enjoyed. The Football Academy also played three matches against local school teams, we won one, drew one and lost one so I would say we were fairly evenly matched wherever we went.”
Year 12 Chloe went on the trip as a member of the Dance Academy and loved learning about the different cultures. She said: “When we went into the townships we had the chance to learn local dances and chants. It was a great experience and something you would never get to do on a normal holiday to South Africa. We were lucky enough to experience the real culture of the country and share our culture with the South Africans. It is sad to think that most of the people we met will never have the opportunity to come over to England and experience our culture as we have theirs.”
Mr Doughty was one of six teachers who accompanied the students on the trip. He said: “The students worked incredibly hard to enable the trip to become a reality. They have been creative in coming up with unique fundraising ideas and given up their free time during evening and weekends to host events and activities. The fundraising element has helped the students to really appreciate the opportunity they have and to value the trip even more.”
When planning the trip my colleagues and I wanted to give the students an authentic experience. Staying with host families and traveling around to different school and clubs helped to achieve this and ensure that students had the opportunity to experience the South African culture. We also organised meals at local restaurants so students could enjoy the local food and entertainment. The trip was hugely beneficial to our students and certainly demonstrated the importance of offering extracurricular opportunities such as this to young people.”
Click on the below articles to read first hand student experiences of the trip
South Africa diary Zoe Cunliffe
Other Images
Students return from sports tour of a lifetime in South Africa
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