ICS London Students Meet with UNESCO partner school in Tokyo

The meeting opened with a warm exchange of introductions, where students from both schools shared insights about their respective cultures and educational experiences. As a central part of the exchange, students discussed ideas for a future joint project, with the hope of creating a meaningful and collaborative partnership. 

Shiomi, a Year 10 student from ICS London, expressed her enthusiasm for the meeting: "Thursday morning, we had an exchange meeting with one of the UNESCO schools in Japan, which is Tokyo Metropolitan Yamazaki High School. We had a meeting because we wanted to do a project that we can do together as a group. Our school and their school introduced ourselves and talked about what we have done in our school. I really enjoyed the meeting because we were able to talk about ourselves and what we want to do as a project, even though we were nervous. When we do another meeting, I hope that we could continue on generating ideas and create a big project."

Winner, a Year 11 student, highlighted the cultural insights gained during the exchange: "I think it was a great experience. We had the opportunity to meet the students and exchange on what seems to be both different cultures. I like how they took the courage to step out of their comfort zone and make an effort to speak English with us. I am looking forward to speaking to them next month and perhaps have a project where we work together or maybe see each other physically."

Saana, another Year 11 student, shared her thoughts on the exchange: "It was a nice experience and was interesting to learn about each of the students. I also liked learning about their school. I wanted to know what a school day looks like in Japan compared to the UK. I'm interested in what future projects we will be doing with them."

It was so interesting to hear Tokyo Metropolitan Yamazaki High School share self-introductions and insights into Japanese culture, and the whole group reflected on their recent 5-day overseas exchange programme to Indonesia. 

We look forward to the next meeting, which will take place next month and will see the students discuss the possibility of collaborating on a joint project focused on the environment, which is a crucial topic that requires awareness and action.