Over the last three weeks we have been lucky enough to host nine Thai students at the school. The students are all in year 9 and are part of a group of fifteen students aged between 13-17, the older students have been on a placement at the Isle of Wight College. The students come from all over Thailand and most of them only met each other once before flying out to the UK.

The students have come to the UK for seven weeks, the aim of the trip is so the students can work on their English, gain an understanding of UK culture and to tell us about Thailand. During their first week they made an exhibition about Thailand and rice, which is currently on display at the Isle of Wight College. The students then had a couple of weeks of English lessons to help prepare them for their school or college placement. During the evenings and weekends the students have visited various places such as London, Portsmouth, Robin Hill, Alum Bay, Osborne House.

During their time with us, the Thai students have amazed us with their fantastic grasp of the English language. They have been a joy to host and we hope they’ve got lots out of their time on the Isle of Wight and at Medina College.

We asked the Thai students how they have found their trip, here’s what they had to say…

“I enjoy every moment here, even though it’s just a short time of being here. The teachers and most of the students here are really nice which makes me enjoy it. My favourite class here is Geography, the teacher was really kind and the things he taught me were really easy to understand and it was really fun.” Kannaphat (Grand)

“From the day that I started to study, I felt that all the teachers were very loving and all of my friends were very friendly. The society at school is very good. The curriculum here and Thailand are not that similar, for example, in Thailand we don’t have to walk to go to other classes, but here we have to go to another class. Overall, I really like this place.” Suchanan (Namwan)

“I am from Phitsanulok Province. At first when I came to Medina College I felt strange but time went by and I don’t feel like that anymore. People in this school are so friendly and they are kind. I love to come here.” Tinn (Justin)

“It’s good that we have this opportunity to be in England and on the island called the Isle of Wight, to be learning languages with local people. I really love the weather here, it’s not too cold and too hot, Thailand is very hot. My buddy is very kind and helpful. We like to have conversations because it helps my accent to get better.” Sasinat (Bonus)

“I come from Phetchaburi Province. I had to take an exam to exchange. In my school there are many monkeys because it is next to the mountain so they come down to find food at my school. When I arrived in England I was excited to meet my buddy, host family and other friends. I studied at Isle of Wight College for three weeks and at Medina College for three weeks. I study with my buddy at Medina College, she’s very sweet and kind to me. Her friends are very kind and friendly.” Torfun 

We asked our students how they got on being buddies…

Holly said “I don’t want my buddy to leave, I’ve really enjoyed having them here!”

Kayla told us “I’ve really enjoyed having my buddy here. She taught me some Thai words, I can now say hello in Thai.”

Fergus had this to say “It’s be a great! My buddy has taught my a lot about Thailand, including some of the language.”

Thank you to the Medina students who were buddies with our Thai students. They have all been fantastic ambassadors for Medina College and taken great care of their buddies.

Following training, a group of Year 10 students recently took on the role of Peer Educators for year 7, which saw them deliver six lessons focusing on mental health and wellbeing as part of The Peer Education Project, a programme devised by The Mental Health Foundation. This secondary school-based educational programme aims to give young people the skills and knowledge they need to safeguard their mental health and that of their peers.

The programme supports the Five Ways to Wellbeing framework adopted by the federation which promotes and encourages a healthy mindset for students and staff. It is the first time that the federation has taken part in the programme and it was a big success with peer educators and year 7 students gaining knowledge of how to protect and improve their mental health in order to lead fulfilling and happy lives.

Year 10 Peer Educators Keira and Lacey-May gave us an overview of the project and told us what they had learnt from it. “Last year, in June, a selection of students volunteered in a project to help younger students with their mental health, this was the Mental Health Peer Educator Project. We did training at The Island VI Form with Carisbrooke College, from this training we planned out the lessons we would present to our given year 7 tutor groups. This project not only allowed us to help students, it also allowed us to view learning from a teacher’s perspective. Through this experience we learnt a lot about mental health ourselves and are extremely grateful to have the opportunity to engage with a class about such an important topic in our lives”.

We are already looking ahead to next year and are asking current year 9 students to consider becoming Peer Educators for our new year 7’s. All interested students should see Mrs Guy.

Our Peer Educators are pictured below with the certificates that they received for completing their training and undertaking the role of Mental Health Peer Educators for year 7.