In this more globally connected world, we are keen to strengthen our relationships with our international Sister and Partner Schools and to cultivate in our pupils a broader and deeper understanding of communities and cultures.  We are fortunate to have an international network of Sister Schools and our current programme of exchange and inter-school links was highly praised in our inspection report.  We use these relationships both to enhance our language provision and also to offer our pupils, linguists and non-linguists, opportunities to learn abroad and immerse themselves in different cultures and ways of life. 

In Year 10 and 11 students studying French for GCSE, are offered the opportunity to take part in our annual French exchange programme. This gives students a chance to spend time with their correspondent and to practise their French language skills. We spend almost a week in the Autumn term living with the correspondent’s family in Bordeaux and visiting our partner school, Lycée Sainte-Marie Bastide, before the French correspondent visits us at Alton School in the following January. Lycée Sainte-Marie Bastide is a mixed, private, catholic school in central Bordeaux on the west, Atlantic coast of France. 

For our Year 10 pupils, we offer an exchange programme with our sister school in Barranquilla, Colombia. Pupils from both settings stay with a host family, during which they are able to experience the hospitality, culture and school life of their partner. As well as experiencing life in a Colombian school, highlights of the visit include taking part in the second largest carnival (after Rio), a trip to the UNESCO World Heritage city of Cartagena and meeting the pupils of two further charity-based schools run by the sisters.