Exchange to Wrekin College
By Divnar Padayachee

I arrived at Heathrow jet-lagged and with no expectation of what the next three months had in store for me. I was fortunate enough to have a friend from Hilton accompanying me on my journey. Everything felt somewhat surreal at first but I was not given time to dwell on it due to the friendliness and hospitality of my new peers. I was rather bemused by the publicity I had received upon arrival for being the South African exchange student.

Wrekin College is situated in the north-west of England. In a typical English town named Wellington and has acquired the nickname of “Shropshire’s School in the Garden”. The nearest city to Wrekin is Birmingham but London is conveniently a two hour train journey for only £16.60, a trip that I utilised well whilst I was there. The school is 125 years old which is reasonably young when compared to other schools in England. Wrekin is a co-educational boarding and day school. Meaning that there are girls present, an aspect of schooling life that many Hilton boys dream off!

The boarding life was distinctively different to Hilton but did share some of the same ethics and regulations. There are seven houses on the Wrekin campus, three boys’ houses, two girls’ houses and a junior house. I was placed in Bayley House, a proud house with a high expectation of its boys, similar to Falcon. I felt that the house spirit complimented the school. The emphasis on the house rugby matches was phenomenal. It was not just a friendly encounter between the lads but rather a vicious rivalry which I particularly enjoyed!

The social vibe is an aspect of Wrekin life that I was awed by. It was incredible to be part of system that lets us socialise under adult like conditions. Evidence of this was the school bar. Where the borders would meet at night and enjoy a pint or two, if you were in upper six. This is not unusual in the English culture but is somewhat rare to South Africans schools. I found that this helped me communicate with other students and strengthen my friendships with people that I would not regularly see during the day. It is an affective component that helps students develop there social and people skills.

I was placed in the lower six which is equivalent to form 4 here. I took the opportunity to try all the subjects that I am not able to do at Hilton. I ended up with politics, maths, art and business studies. I particularly enjoyed my art lessons. Every Wednesday morning, we would sketch a nude model. This was an unusual and yet challenging task for me! It was an experience nevertheless!

After lessons during the day we would proceed with activities or sport.
Students at Wrekin are encouraged to participate in a sport but this is not compulsory. The students are given the freedom to do as they like. This promotes individuality and there was a lot of it at Wrekin. The students were accepted as themselves and were the most down to earth people, and this was not based on academic merit or sporting excellence. Whilst I was there I played rugby and football. The one thing that I remember about the rugby was that after the match we always had sausages and mash, a tradition that has remained at Wrekin College.

I also took part in the school performance of South Pacific. A musical, and if you know me at all you would know that I am certainly no singer. Although it was an opportunity for me to try and I had nothing to loose. To my surprise I found this to be one of the defining aspects of my exchange. Although it did take up much of my time I think it was definitely something that I just had to do, bravely.

I was fortunate to have so many opportunities whilst I was there. One being my art trip to Italy. I found this to be quite an eye opener. I had previously been to Italy on holiday but my art trip with the school was far more enjoyable. It added some cultural depth to my knowledge of art and I was fortunate to be able to visit some of the most renowned galleries in the world!

This was an amazing trip and I am hoping to return to Italy one day. This was made possible because travelling in Europe is so simple and I made it my mission, to do as much as I could. I think this is one of the components that make exchange so incredible and unique.

I feel that I can not justify my exchange with words. From the moment I set off I knew that from then onwards my life would never be the same. I was right! My experience abroad has changed me in so many ways. I hope I can inspire the younger boys to take this opportunity. I believe that I made an effort to do every-thing I could whilst I was at Wrekin. Although there still is that feeling that I could have done a little bit more. I think it was the little things that made my exchange what it was, nothing short of incredible. It certainly shone past expectations. I must thank Mr Guthrie and Mr de Weymann for making this exchange possible. It was truly worth it!