Features / Far flung Euro youth gather in Brae
What happens when you draw a squint, vaguely pentagonic shape on the map of Europe and invite students from the corners to mix together and socialise, educate each other and exchange views and culture?
This is the aim of the bold ERASMUS+ student exchange programme, and Brae High School has been the centre of its attention over the past week.
The school has welcomed a total of 28 pupils and their teachers, all from far-flung areas of the continent – Turkey, the very north of Norway (70 degrees north), Latvia and Sardinia.
Despite the obvious differences in culture and general life (and weather!) so pivotal to this kind of programme, there was more each group had in common than might have been thought.
Six Brae pupils had previously visited Turkey back in January for the first ERASMUS exchange, with trips to follow in Sardinia, Latvia and Norway.
Key questions were asked on matters of energy, technology and industry, comparing and contrasting for example solar power in Turkey to the hotly-debated wind farm project her in Shetland.
Local families around the area hosted the visitors and a range of events and activities were put in place to keep everyone busy.
Previous days had brought trips to Sullom Voe oil terminal and the mainland of Shetland’s most northerly spot, Fethaland.
On Thursday night a Junior Up Helly Aa was held in Brae (BHSJUHA?) for the first time in over 30 years, featuring a purpose-made galley and acts by each group of visiting students.
Grabbing the chance to speak to some of these visiting students, who were well in the midst of another hectic flurry of a day, it was clear that they were nothing but positive about their experiences so far.
They said they had found Shetland to be a welcoming place and seeing the shared interest in each others’ lives and society was highly rewarding. For some it was their first time abroad.
Another thing that was clear from the outset was the astounding quality of English spoken by everyone.
For Norwegian student Andrea Mathisen the first thing to come to mind when asked what she would take away from the trip was “improved language skills”, which goes to show how important learning languages can be and how enthusiastic some people can be about it.
The school’s deputy head Garry Spence was full of praise for how the project had come off the ground, considering the usual size of a school involved is one much bigger than Brae.
Credit must also be given to teachers and coordinators Beverley Muldoon and Gordon Stove for all the hard work involved, not to mention the support of a vast array of local businesses and organisations to help the week run smoothly, he said.
As the week ended and the first groups began to depart on Friday, it was clear the project had been rewarding and spoke volumes about the importance of communication and sharing with our European neighbours – as well as how diverse a continent it really is.
Patrick Mainland
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