The Littlehampton Academy welcomes last-minute guests

Curious students from the Lycée Paul Moreau High School, based on Reunion Island, near Madagascar, decided to visit the school after they were impressed by the academy’s résumé of international links, shown on its website.

About a dozen teenagers, accompanied by their teachers, visited the academy for the afternoon, on Friday, March 2, after contacting the school, days before.

The French-speaking guests were welcomed with open arms by the school’s chaplain, Paul Sanderson, who arranged a stunning performance by the TLA Steel Band, to mark to occasion,

Following on from the special show by the band, the overseas visitors were taken on a grand tour of the academy by some of the students. Language barriers were, at times, tricky to overcome but that didn’t deter the talented linguists from the academy working their magic and communicating with the special guests.

After the tour, the visitors were split into separate groups and were taken into different lessons, with some peeking in on the academy’s English class, while others were left in awe of the school’s state-of-the-art science facilities.

A spokeswoman for the academy said the day had been a brilliant learning experience for both schools and that students thought the academy was far bigger and busier than their school. She added the Reunion students were envious of the academy’s shorter days.