Rotary Club of Oswestry

Mon Jan 21st 2008
Oswestry Rotary Club's Annual International Students Evening

 

Building self confidence, learning to be independent minded, revelling in a broad based education were only a few of the benefits overseas students felt they acquired by being here in the Oswestry area.

Speaking at the Oswestry Rotary Club's Annual International Students Evening, young people from at least ten countries of the world expressed their gratitude for what local secondary schools could offer. 

A packed evening at the Walls Restaurant enjoyed listening to a group of articulate and informed students currently based at the Marches School and Technology College, Oswestry School, the  Adcote School, Moreton Hall and Ellesmere College. Club members and their guests were entertained to a range of stories contrasting life and study here with that in the visitors own home countries. Fifteen students compared the educational opportunities available here in north Shropshire with those in countries as diverse as from Hong Kong to Sweden, Thailand to the Ukraine, Poland to Brunei, Germany to China, Nigeria to Japan and the USA. 

While the UK weather drew the usual not unexpected comments and the chance to refine their English skills was noted, how Oswestry area schools offered the opportunity to mix in a multi lingual world was one of the surprising lessons of the evening. Rotary Club President Jayne Middleton was delighted to express her thanks to the students and staff. "How lucky we have been to have witnessed the world in microcosm here in our own home town.", said Jayne. In expressing the Club's gratitude, Past President Bill Bowen highlighted the splendid evidence of that self confidence and fluency of language already vividly displayed during one of Rotary's gala events.