In the Summer half-term, Sidcot's first ever trip to Brummana High School, Lebanon, departed, led by Thomas Weidner (International Baccalaureate Coordinator), Barley Hearn (Quaker, Peace and Global Studies Coordinator) & Iain Kilpatrick (Head). The fifteen Year 12 students were away for six days in total visiting their fellow Quaker school in Lebanon. The students were generously welcomed by their counterparts from Brummana and enjoyed sharing school life, getting a taste of Lebanese culture and history, and celebrating their shared Quaker heritage.
Day 1 - Travelling To Lebanon
The trip started at 6:00am, meeting at School. It was a lovely bright May morning with a lot of excitement in the air as we all gathered on board the bus to make our way to Heathrow airport. Our flight departed on-time at 1:00pm, and just over five hours later, we landed in Beirut: local time 7:35pm.
Our hosts, Rabih Aouad (Head of Boarding), and David Gray (Principal), kindly met us at Arrivals to escort us to Brummana High School via bus. On the way, David pointed out to the group points of interest and stories related to the places we were passing.
A short while later, we arrived at our boarding house, 'Edinburgh'. It was 9:30pm, and Rabih treated us to an order of shawarma and sandwiches! The boarding houses were very nice and had everything we needed, including a spacious common room with TV, table tennis, a pool table and table football.
We were also delighted to share the boarding house with students from Muscat International School, Oman, who added another 25 students between 12 and 13 years old to the mix. It made for a great atmosphere throughout the whole trip, as we connected not just with our hosts, but other international students.
Once we had finished our meal, it was time to settle in and get some sleep to prepare for a very busy second day of excursions!
Day 2 - Excursions
We woke up bright and early on our first official day in Lebanon, enjoying a delicious breakfast in the School cafeteria before heading out on a day of exciting excursions, generously organised by our host Rabih.
First up was a trip to the historical city of Byblos (also known as Jbeil), located on the coast about one hour away from Brummana. We thoroughly enjoyed a tour of this unique historic site, where 17 different cultures have left their mark through the times. It was amazing to see the historical fortress, churches and mosques, and we concluded the trip by all enjoying the tourist shops and old souk.
Next up was our trip to Jeita Grotto, known as the Pearl of Nature in Lebanon. After parking the bus, we hopped on a little tourist train to the entrance of the upper grotto. The huge cavern was pleasantly cool after we had spent the day out in 30° sun! We spent 45 minutes viewing this natural beauty before descending to the lower grotto, where we took a boat onto an underground lake. For many, this was a highlight of the trip!
After we returned to School, and enjoyed a delicious dinner, the students then all enjoyed an impromptu football match on BHS's new artificial football pitch, which was a great bonding experience. It couldn't have been a more enjoyable way to spend our first day in Lebanon.
Day 3 - A Day At Brummana High School (BHS)
On our third day of the trip, we were invited to partake in 'A Day at Brummana High School'.
This started with a Special Assembly, where Sidcot students Cosima, Neele, and Wolfe gave a presentation they had prepared about Sidcot and life in the UK to assembled BHS IB students. Principal David Gray also officially welcomed us and we were given an engraved BHS plaque as a present to the School.
We then were invited on a tour of the BHS campus, where our students, accompanied by BHS students, split off in small groups to explore the beautiful buildings and grounds.
Students then attended classes throughout the day; a fascinating insight into the differences and similarities of a Quaker education in Lebanon.
As the School day came to an end, our students were invited to take part in an Model United Nations (MUN) training session. This was particularly helpful as some of our students had not taken part in MUN before. It was impressive to see the MUN organising committee members and trainers so enthusiastic about the upcoming event. The session helped our students know what to expect. Afterwards, many of our students realised they still had to prepare speeches and more for the next day, so that was a large part of their evening!
Day 4 & 5 - Model United Nations Conference (MUN)
This is the event we had all been looking forward to!
The MUN conference started bright and early at 9am on Day 4. We enjoyed an opening ceremony, with speeches from the BHS MUN team and special guest, Joanna Wronecka, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon.
Sidcot student Cosima insightfully asked Joanna "What one piece of advice would you give us?", to which Joanna replied "Read poetry" as a means to understand better who you are and how different people can have different perspectives and viewpoints on the same issues. An excellent piece of advice to start the conference.
Students stayed in their respective committees all day on both days discussing important worldwide issues, interrupted only by the lunch break. They learned a lot from one another, engaged deeply with other cultures and viewpoints, and took on new perspectives, all while staying true to their own beliefs.
On Day 5, the closing ceremony was held in a very festive mood. We enjoyed fantastic and insightful closing speeches from Brummana students and BHS Prinicipal, David Gray.
Day 6 - Return To Sidcot
After a late breakfast at the boarding house, we packed up and made our way up to the BHS campus to say our goodbyes. We took lots of group photos with BHS students and colleagues, before finally bidding farewell!
With that, it was time to make our way home. We were all very sad to leave as it had been such an excellent trip but excited to get home knowing we would shortly be welcoming BHS students to Sidcot, and seeing our new friends again.
In the second to last week of the Summer term, we welcomed a return IB cohort of 27 students from Brummana High School to Sidcot. Highlights of the exchange included fun day trips to Wells and London to get an immersive experience of British culture and see some of the UK's top sites, and a tree-planting ceremony to commemorate the visit and growing relationship between our two schools!
Throughout the week, Brummana students attended Year 12 IB classes, gaining an insight into the similarities and differences of learning in another country, and another school environment. In a Year 12 Geography class, Sidcot and Brummana students worked together to explore the geography of Lebanon and Beirut. They looked at a number of themes including: insider and outsider perspectives, changing land use and how groups are trying to alter Beirut's sense of place. Pupils took part in a geographical debate, produced group posters and created word clouds, complimenting the Year 12 topic of 'Changing Places'.
Brummana students also had the opportunity to interact with younger students, including through a presentation to Years 5 & 6 at the Junior School on what life is like in their school and country, and why they were visiting. They explained that since 2020, Brummana High School and Sidcot School have had links and that, this year, they were taking part in an exchange to mark the 150th anniversary of Brummana High School. J5 and J6 learnt lots of interesting facts about their school and country including what they eat, what activities they do at their school and what they do for fun. They were particularly fascinated to hear that in Lebanon you can ski and go to the beach in the same day!
The week was brought to a close with a touching tree planting ceremony, attended by the Brummana students and staff, Sidcot Year 12 IB students, and a collection of further Sidcot students and staff who wanted to witness the occassion and say goodbye to our guests. A Cedar of Lebanon was planted in the Peace Field, with all in attendance helping to bury it. A commemorative plaque was staked in front of it, reading:
"This Cedar tree represents the partnership between Sidcot and Brummana High School – two schools united in their Quaker value and determination that their students are beacons for the future, to make a difference in the world."
Overall, both trips were roaring successes, further consolidating the relationship between our two schools and providing an excellent opportunity for our students to partake in intercultural learning, and develop friendships that will last long beyond their time here at Sidcot.