VIRTUAL SHERBORNE EXCHANGE
SHIRBURNIAN SENIOR SCHOOL
The week before February half term we welcomed a group of four pupils from Sherborne Girls (Dorset, UK) and their teacher, Mrs. Mackintosh, as part of our exchange programme. The girls experienced local Qatari culture and traditions as part of the Sherborne Exchange programme. This year, we have wanted to continue foster the friendship and collaboration between the two schools. Therefore, Ms. Khayari (in charge of the Exchange programme) organised a virtual exchange with a number of exciting, shared activities, including online debates, house challenges and cultural exchanges. In March we held our first Virtual Cultural Exchange with pupils who paid us a visit. The girls got to interact with their hosting counter partners and shared views on how Covid 19 has affected their education and the impact that it has had on their daily routine from opposite sides of the world. The two groups even chatted about Harry and Meghan latest news. Mrs. Mackintosh, Ms. Khayari’s counterpart at Sherborne Girls, commented: ‘Thank you so much for organising the meetings which I think went really well. It was such a valuable meeting for all pupils and humbling to see how concerned they were for each other – the friendships have continued to build even though we are unable to visit each other. It was a great idea of yours and I felt the pupils interacted really well’.
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In April, pupils from both schools worked on a code breaking competition. The girls at Sherborne Dorset completed it in their boarding House on the weekend and scored 13. They very much enjoyed the mind wrangling and brain teasing that the questions provided. In June, pupils will be competing on a foreign languages quiz. “It was a pleasure reuniting with the Sherborne Dorset exchange girls. Despite missing out on the numerous adventures this year; we opted for online meetings in which we discussed the striking differences between the covid-19 situation in the UK and Qatar. I am glad we all got to speak with each other again” Moza Faisal Al Thani (Y11) ‘I really enjoyed speaking to the girls from Sherborne UK. I especially loved getting to know how their school dealt with covid quickly’. Moza Abdurehman Al Thani (Y9) Any pupil interested in learning more about future Sherborne Qatar exchanges with our sister school in Sherborne Dorset should see Ms. Khayari (Head of House) or email rkhayari@sherborneqatar.org. Rgizlaine Khayari Head of House
