Exchange report:
Siphiwe Mafereka
King Williams College, Castletown, Isle of Man

Last year I was fortunate enough to be granted the opportunity by Hilton College to go on exchange to King Williams College. The school is situated in Castletown on the Isle of Man which is the middle of the Irish Sea in between Ireland and the English main land. King Williams College is co-educational as well as the only private school on the Island; the school starts at 4^th form (grade 7) and goes all the way up to 6^th form (grade 12), which consists of boarders and day scholars.

 

The school is enriched with lots of different cultures, and there is a sense of internationalism as there are many students from different countries across the globe attending the school.

 

I arrived at the Isle of Man airport (Ronaldsway) to be welcomed by my housemaster Mr. Maree whom is also Master in charge of exchange at the school. We drove back to the boarding house (colbourne) which I would call home for the next 3 months; the boarding house accommodated approximately 60 boys. At this stage I was very excited to get going with my fantastic experience and nervous at the same time to be in this foreign place where I knew absolutely no one. Then shortly I was introduced to my three room mates a German guy, Caspar, a Eurasian guy, Rodger and ex South African, Bradley whom all turned out to be wonderful, warm and welcoming guys. For me the greatest thing at that point in time was being accepted and welcomed into this great boarding establishment. On the premises there are only two boarding houses, the girls’ boarding house and the boys’ boarding house, which is different to what we have at Hilton i.e. 7 boarding houses of which all are boys’ houses.

Another interesting aspect of the school which I observed in the houses and within the school itself is that there was no hierarchy system. And I wondered how it worked, because at Hilton College hierarchy is the basis of our leadership system and we are very much exposed to it. Overtime I learnt that their leadership system was different; whereby for instance the Head of school, Head of house and prefects took the initiative and would do duties in the house like ring rising bell, and ensure that everyone goes to breakfast. I found that this style of leadership is very effective for King Williams College, Where the juniors in the school would look up to the seniors through genuine respect for whom they are and what they do, instead out of fear which can be the case at some schools.

The students had a fair amount of freedom to do what they wanted to do in their spare time which was a good and bad thing, it all depends on how individuals utilize their freedom, for instance sport and other activities within the school were not compulsory but they were encouraged to participate in them. During my time at the school it was the rugby and hockey season. I played for the 1^st xv rugby side. Both rugby and hockey 1^st teams had phenomenal talent and produced good results. Both teams were very competitive on the island, to the extent that every two weeks either team or both of them combined would go on tour across to the British main land to play more competitive schools.

The rugby was a great part for me in terms of sport because that is where I made most of my friends and helped me with settling in. The conditions in which we played rugby were not of the norm; very wet, muddy and windy conditions, often very challenging. For me this was a new experience I had never played in such conditions and I looked forward to it with great excitement. The downfall was that there is a lack in support for the top teams of the school, whereas here at Hilton the support is great for all sports especially rugby and hockey.

On the academic side, things weren’t the same as at Hilton. We had nine lessons a day which meant school ended at 4:30 pm. At King Williams College sixth form

(Grade 11 and 12) they do the IB (international Baccalaureate) which I found relatively hard, and 4^th   form (grade 7) to 5^th form (grade 10) do A levels which is the standard education of the UK. I did subjects which I would not normally do at Hilton just for the sake of variation and exploring. I did subjects such as Spanish and Business studies. In sixth form you are required to do extended essays in most of your subjects, and the essay is normally about 3500-4000 words on research on a particular topic of the subject.  

My time on exchange was the most worthwhile and life changing 3 months of my life; it’s been an eye opener to what is out there in the rest of the world; you have to take a step towards making life and all your experiences worthwhile. Exchange gives you the opportunity to live and explore the different cultures of the rest of the world and compare them to our own cultures here in South Africa as well as at Hilton College. King Williams taught the importance of social development and friendships as a young adult in this world. All the friendships I have made on exchange are equally as valuable and important to me because they have helped me in becoming a better person.

I look back on my time on exchange as one of the best experiences in my life thus far.

I am very Grateful for this wonderful opportunity that Hilton College gave me to go on exchange, and now it is time for me to give back to Hilton and my country, time to share my memories, explain my encounters and great experiences.