The Chronicle, No. 668, September 2015

19 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

My Time at Teddies

By Peter Kohler Coming to St Edwards has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. I had never been to England before this trip, and was hesitant about leaving Baltimore and all my friends for a month to come someplace so far and different from home. However, it turned out to be an amazing decision. I cannot say enough about the School and particularly the people who study here. I have made more friends here than I could possibly imagine, friends I will have for the rest of my life. Everyone has been so friendly and welcoming, and I knew from my first day here that it would be a really fun time. Even going to classes has been good, thanks to the teachers and fellow pupils who make the classes different and exciting each day. Learning about England and particularly how different everything is has been interesting, and I am very disappointed that I have to leave this wonderful place. I want to thank everyone at St Edward’s for being so welcoming. I especially want to thank Kaber for being such a great host and all of Apsley and particularly Harry M, Harry B, Orlando, Erik, Tom, James, Luke, Sam, Hussain, and Karl for showing me the ropes. This has been a life changing experience for me, and I will never forget my time at St. Edwards.

Bongai Mwanesa, Caston Nzvenga and Nicolene Tambirayi

Sharing Experiences Three university pupils from Zimbabwe whose tuition fees are being paid by Henry

We had the opportunity to share our life stories with different groups of pupils. We discussed the differences between the UK and Zimbabwean education systems. This gave us the chance to identify possible solutions to some of the challenges faced by pupils in Zimbabwe. We enjoyed helping St Edward’s pupils understand more about Zimbabwe’s challenges by explaining the economic and education systems to them. Overall, our experience at St Edwards was incredibly inspiring. Every situation taught us something new and we enjoyed being part of the Teddies community; we are grateful to everyone who made it possible.” You may remember that a group of girls from Mac’s Fifth Form raised money for Nikki Tambirayi by holding a sponsored 24-hour fast in February.

Chitsenga’s SuchHope charity visited St Edward’s in June: Bongai Mwanesa, studying Peace and Governance at Bindura University; Nicolene Tambirayi, studying Law at Zimbabwe University; and Caston Nzvenga, studying Business Studies at Zimbabwe University. Below, Caston reflects on their time at Teddies. “In our first few days, we joined in with the athletics club – which was fascinating as the drills were very different to those in Zimbabwe – and we greatly valued the time we spent in the Lower Sixth Peer Listening workshop. I also enjoyed taking part in the ‘Tilly’s Sleeps Rough’ fundraising event where I experienced first-hand how these compassionate and altruistic pupils and staff fundraise for our tuition fees and general welfare. I was touched and inspired by how much effort goes into improving the lives of many orphans and under-privileged children in Zimbabwean communities. We were honoured to sing, preach and speak in Chapel to the whole School. This was the first time we had given a presentation to such a large group in English so it was a giant step in our learning experience.

Celia Hodgson

Bongai, Nikki and Caston ran the Vitality London 10k on 12th July to help fellow students. You can still support them via this link: www.justgiving.com/Historic- British-10k-London-Run-2015/ .

Gabrielle Woolley from Roland Park Country School in Baltimore, Jacqueline Ricketts-Hagan ( Ghana International ), Peter Kohler from Gilman School in Baltimore and Kaber Mroue ( Lycée Louis Massignon )