International exchanges

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The children of today will grow up to live and work in an increasingly interlinked and cosmopolitan world.  It is therefore essential that they develop the linguistic skills and socio-cultural understanding required to be successful in a globalised environment.

Language curriculum

We provide a broad language curriculum which introduces pupils to seven different ancient and modern languages in Years 7 and 8*, and requires all pupils to study at least one language to IGCSE with many opting for two or more.

(*the languages covered are: French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Russian, Portuguese and Latin).

Our language teaching is supplemented by a vibrant exchange programme with schools in France, Germany, Spain and Japan.  We also provide after school classes in Mandarin, offer Ancient Greek as an option at GCSE and A level and in the Sixth Form students can study Arabic and Italian.

Exchange programmes

We operate exchange programmes with schools in Australia, Hong Kong, USA, Switzerland and South Africa which give pupils the opportunity to spend time studying in a foreign school.  These exchange placements represent an excellent opportunity for Perse pupils to gain first-hand experience of a different culture and develop a sense of independence and self-reliance.

Overseas trips

We run an extensive range of overseas trips which always have a ‘global studies’ dimension whereby participants are required to engage with the history, geography and culture of the destination.  This may involve students on a PES expedition living and working amongst villagers in Ladakh, or those on a sports tour to South Africa learning about the history of apartheid.  In a typical year, we will run 12 overseas trips of varying costs ranging from short study visits to the World War One battlefields, to month long PES or sports tours.