Cultural Exchange

Working alongside local students in preparation for World Culture Day

Earlier this year ACFAA was approached by Le Cluzeau Collège & Lycée Sigoulès to work with students in the second year of their course – Baccalauréat Professionnel SAPAT (Service à la personne et au territoire).  The focus of curriculum is caring for children, elders and disabled people, but also includes planning events and activities.

For World Culture Day*, students were tasked with presenting different cultures of the world, through an aspect of that culture such as food, traditional clothing or cultural traditions.  In order to help them develop their ideas and create a presentation that was authentic as possible, Le Cluzeau reached out to our members to share their culture with students.

One of those who took part is long-time member Roz Drinkwater.  Here is what she had to say about the experience.

“In May 2024, I was part of a small team of volunteers supporting Baccalaureate students at the Le Cluzeau Lycée in Sigoulès.  The students were asked to prepare group exhibits on World Culture Day, and I was teamed up with four students who had chosen to represent the UK.  After discussing various options, Guy Fawkes Day was chosen as their subject and my role was to support them in understanding this custom, researching, preparing and presenting a visually interesting stall.  Their presentation included a handmade guy, homemade mini toffee apples, craft representations of fireworks and posters detailing the history and characters related to this tradition.”

“It was an extremely rewarding few days.  All the students were respectful, appreciative and enthusiastic about their tasks.  My involvement was an enjoyable mix of chatting to the group, helping them improve their English language skills, and hands on practical support with the exhibit itself.  The volunteers were invited to attend the event at the school on World Culture Day so we could see all the different presentations.  Not only was it a valuable experience working with the students, but new friends were made amongst the volunteers also, so it was an all-round positive experience for everybody involved.”