The EVC Magazine Spring 2025 - Flipbook - Page 20
SCHOOL STORY
BE INSPIRED BY…THURSTON COLLEGE
Enjoying the view in Panama
LEARNING TO LEAD
On visits abroad, it’s not just the students who
grow in confidence and learn new things – often
the visit staff benefit just as much. We follow one
teacher who travelled to Cambodia, Nepal and
Panama with her sixth-form students, developing
her expertise and leadership skills with each visit
In July 2022, language teacher Annabelle
Wood set off for Cambodia with 15 students
from Thurston College in Suffolk as a member
of staff on the 16-day adventure. Organised
as part of the Turing Scheme, the aim of the
visit was to turn the sixth-formers into ‘Global
Citizens’; they would run language workshops
with students at a local school and explore
the country and its historic sites in their spare
time.
Annabelle teaches Modern Foreign Languages
at Thurston College, and is passionate
about using travel to broaden students’ life
experience. She believes that languages can
help to build positive relationships across the
world – and travelling to Cambodia was the
perfect opportunity to put this into practice.
Thurston College students on their Cambodia adventure
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The Cambodia trip was Annabelle’s first visit
outside of Europe with a group of students,
and the experience was as valuable for her as
it was for them. She saw what to expect as the
students encountered a different culture, and
she learned how to help them cope with being
far from home.
