Co-Curricular Activities: Sister School/Exchange Programs

Marryatville has a small group of overseas students studying in ISEC and mainstream classes. Many families offer homestay accommodation to overseas students on short term visits to Marryatville through our Sister School and music programs. Language students have an opportunity to participate in international exchanges with sister schools in countries where each of the three languages studied at Marryatville - Chinese, Japanese and French - are spoken.

Marryatville High School has Sister School Exchange programs with schools in China and Japan, and conducts an annual exchange to Orleans, France.

All exchanges achieve the expected outcomes of friendships, enhancement of cultural understanding and increased language skill development.

Members of general staff are involved in these exchanges as well as the school's language teachers, thus broadening the opportunities for the whole school community.

In 2006 8 teachers from Marryatville will travel to China for 4 weeks to work in our sister schools.

Soja-Minami Senior High School is located in Soja City, Okayama Prefectre, Japan.

It is an international school, with a strong emphasis on language learning. A Sister School agreement was established in 1994, between the 2 schools and since then, the program has continued to be important part of the Japanese Curriculum at Marryatville High School.

Every 2 years, Japanese students in years 9-11 have the opportunity to participate in a 2 week cultural tour to Japan. This gives the students an insight into the culture and life in Japan, as they homestay with a Japanese Family, attend some lessons at Soja-Minami High School, and participate in a variety of daily excursions.

Every alternate year, the tour is reciprocated by a visit to our school from soja-minami S.H.S. The students are home hosted by students of Japanese.

Long-term exchanges for students of Japanese are available for a period of 3, 6, 9 or 12 months. The successful applicants are required to complete an application and undergo an interview. The successful student(s) will attend Soja-Minami Senior High School and home stay for the duration of their stay in Japan.

NEW IN 2005
A scholarship to Warabi High School in 2006 for one Year 10 student of Japanese has also been implemented. A student from Warabi will attend Marryatville in Term 4, 2005 as part of this program.

Marryatville High School has a Sister School agreement with 4 schools in China. 2 schools are located in Shenzhen - Shenzhen Middle School and 1 school in Shandong Province.

The agreement exists for the exchange of information and visits by staff and students by mutual agreement.

In July each year, Marryatville High School welcomes a group of French students from the Cours St-Charles in Orléans. St-Charles is a large high school with a specialist bilingual English section. Almost 60% of its students study English as a second language. These students are home hosted by our students of French.

In December each year, a group of Marryatville students and staff travels to France for 5 weeks. One week is spent in Paris visiting major tourist attractions. The next 4 weeks are spent with host families in Orléans.

Students are treated to Christmas and New Year festivities and often travel with their host families to other parts of France. Some visits are also arranged to local attractions (eg chocolate factory, Chambord castle). Students travelling on the French exchange program can also qualify for a SACE unit.