Erasmus+ Visit to Diss – September 2017

Staff and students at Diss High School have been given the opportunity to be involved in an international project spanning two years (2016-2018) where six different countries work together on a common theme of Cultural Tolerance. So far students have been given the opportunity to travel to Greece and Italy, staying with host families for a week, being immersed into the culture. During these visits students arrived from all over Europe and as a team they worked together to discuss what Cultural Tolerance means to them and their country.

As part of the project, teachers from all the countries meet to discuss how the project is progressing and this September Diss High School was privileged to be the hosts this September. Teachers from France, Greece, Italy, Slovakia and The Netherlands joined us for four days to not only discuss the progress of the project, but also to learn a bit more about our culture.

On the Thursday and Friday mornings, the international teachers had the opportunity to be part of the school community by visiting assemblies, lessons and being given an excellent tour of the local area by Miss Pretty (Head of Maths). All students who had previously been involved in the project presented their experiences to Year 7 (and the staff) during assembly time, outlining what they had learnt about the different cultures and how this had impacted on their lives. Of course the progress of the project was discussed and plans for the next exchange put in place; six students from Year 10, alongside all the other countries, will be visiting the Netherlands during the first week of December to visit the school in Maassluis!

Staff from Diss were also given the opportunity to forge new links with the schools across Europe and invited to spend time with the group during the evenings over dinner. Mrs Adams, Mrs Miles and Miss Pretty gave an excellent tour of Norwich on the Friday afternoon explaining the history behind the City and Mrs Chilvers took the staff to visit Bury St Edmonds on the Saturday.

All in all it was a busy few days and there was definitely a ‘buzz’ of excitement around the school; we look forward to the next chapter in the Erasmus+ project.