Inverness welcomes visiting students from France
Twenty three Breton students from Inverness’s twinned town, La Baule, will receive a warm Highland welcome at Inverness Town House this week (29 May) by the Provost of Inverness and Members of the Inverness Town Twinning Committee.
While in Scotland on student exchanges, the students from Collège Éric Tabarly are being hosted by Inverness Royal Academy S2 pupils and their families for 1 week, departing on 1 June.
Provost of Inverness, Councillor Alex Graham said: “We are looking forward to welcoming the students from La Baule. The Town Twinning Committee has been delighted to support their visit in the knowledge that our friends in La Baule will give our pupils from Inverness Royal Academy as equal a warm welcome when they visit France in September. Both visits will not only help develop and improve the language skills of all the pupils but it will give them a great insight into the culture of each country.”
During their exchange, the pupils attend Inverness Royal Academy and will also visit the Highland Wildlife Park, Fort George, Landmark and Urquhart Castle.
Dawn Munro, Head of Modern Languages at Inverness Royal Academy said: “This is the first exchange trip Inverness Royal Academy has undertaken for many years, and it is hoped that the experience will be a good one and develop into an annual event.
“The benefits of this kind of trip are great, as it gives increased motivation and a real sense of purpose to language learners, and also helps to forge a greater understanding of the world around them as well as building social skills.
“A return trip to France is planned for September this year by Modern Languages Teacher Peter McArthur. We hope to offer the students some memorable Highland hospitality. In addition to their trip to the Town House, we are holding a barbeque and a ceilidh where the visiting Breton group ‘War Roak’ will perform alongside our own pupils.”
Three staff are accompanying the pupils from Brittany including Leader Sophie Bonic, Susan Devey and Jordan Frund.
La Baule is situated on the Cote d'Amour in the south of Brittany in France. The twinning of Inverness with La Baule evolved from contacts between councillors from the two towns. In 1981 the twinning charter was signed. In 2011, Inverness celebrated 30 years of twinning with the French holiday resort of La Baule.