“Not all those who wander are lost.”
J.R.R. Tolkien
Mount Carmel Secondary School were awarded an Erasmus + grant to carry out a reciprocal exchange with a French school from Uzès in the south of France. This grant covered all of the costs (accommodation/ food/ transportation etc.) for 30 students and 4 accompanying teachers. Our application received a score of 93/100, and the approval letter noted that ‘the planned mobility programmes align with the specific development needs among learners at the school’.
‘The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.’
Marcel Proust
Preparatory Visit (17/04/23 – 21/04/23)
In order to prepare for the Erasmus + mobility, Mr Gunning, Ms Cleary and Ms Donoghue travelled to Uzès in April 2023 to visit our partner school where they were able to meet with management and teaching staff, observe lessons, and organise the logistics of the trip. This visit allowed us to further define our learning outcomes and how best to achieve them.
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
Andre Gide
Group Mobility (25/09/23 – 29/09/23)
Our project centred on five objectives:
- Objective 1: Promote and encourage the participation of learners in international mobility.
- Objective 2: Promote mobility of educational staff.
- Objective 3: Promote the principles of Intercultural Education.
- Objective 4: Develop awareness of urgent environmental and climate change issues in the participating EU countries.
- Objective 5: Investigate the legacy and achievements of the Roman civilization and how they contributed to the history of Europe.
“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.”
Maya Angelou
In total, we visited Uzès and its surroundings for five days. Thirty TY and 5th Year students were accompanied by Mr Gunning, Ms Cleary, Ms Collins and Ms Farrington.
Students spent three mornings in either the professional side of the school where they took part in workshops in subjects such as Stonework, Ironwork, Applied Art, and Marquetry or they attended the general school where they attended classes such as French, English, Art and Design, History-Geography and Physics-Chemistry.
In addition, a scavenger hunt around Uzès was organised with the help of our French colleagues. Students had to work in groups to find architectural features and elements of historical interest around the town centre.
Afternoons were spent visiting various sites of historic or geographic importance, including the Nîmes Arena, the Pont du Gard aqueduct, and the Salamander Caves. We were also given a guided tour of the Pope’s Palace in Avignon and we explored the citadel of Carcassonne.
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
St. Augustine of Hippo
What the participating students thought of the experience, in their own words:
‘The places we visited were amazing to see in real life and the people I met were outgoing and very friendly to me.’
‘What I enjoyed the most was speaking to the people in French and adapting to their culture.’
‘I enjoyed going to the school and seeing how different it is.’
‘For me my highlight of the trip was the time we spent in the professional school. I was so impressed by what the students could do. Another highlight of the trip was living in the hotel. It was a new but extremely fun experience and the first time I lived away from my parents. Since I shared a room with my best friend it felt like living in a dorm and we made some hilarious memories there. The city of Avignon was beautiful too. Also the scavenger hunt is very memorable to me. It was so much fun. We asked so many strangers if they knew where the things we were looking for were. Although there was a language barrier they were still so kind and their English was way better than our French. And even if they didn’t know what we were looking for they would still try their best to help. Meeting all those amazing people is an experience that I will not forget.’
‘The highlights of the trip for me were the beautiful cities and sceneries we visited. As well as the people I met during the school visits.’
Our partner school hope to visit Dublin towards the end of the 2023/24 academic year. We look forward to giving them as warm a welcome as the one we received in Uzès.
Accreditation
In October 2023, the Erasmus + committee intends to apply for Accreditation which would allow us to get easier access to funding opportunities over a period of several years.
“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”
Anthony Bourdain
“A journey is best measured in friends rather than miles.”
Tim Cahill
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.