The Chile Project
The Chile Project
Our major joint project is the Wessex Project. The personal links which one of our Geographers shares with Chile have opened up exciting new horizons with this country. In 2006, we hosted forty Chilean students, who benefited from three days immersion in school and family life in Britain. With these same young people, Solihull School pupils were able to enjoy many shared experiences. We organised outings, played sport together, shared meals (generously provided by our Parents’ Association) and enjoyed a final Assembly, in which the Chileans gave us a whistle-stop tour of their remarkable country.
Before the arrival of the Chilean group, we began to raise awareness of Chile and of some of the historical background to that country. We benefited from the professional skills of Mr Trace, who has a son in the Upper Fifth. He helped us to make a video of Solihull School, which he subsequently took to Concepción during one of his working visits. He soon realise how huge Chile is – the trip to our partner school did involve a detour of several hundred miles! Once there he got to know Wessex School and made a video of life there. Back in England, we organised an evening to introduce the country and the aims of the project to a number of interested parents and students. An introduction to Chile by the Geography Department was complemented by the Première of the video, bringing together the two continents. Our excellent Catering Staff provided a reception, with Chilean wine and food. On a subsequent evening, we showed the film ‘Machuca’, which deals with some of the social inequalities which ushered in the Allende period. Parents and students from the wider community attended. The film was followed by talks from two Chilean visitors, who had experienced this difficult period in Chile’s history. It was a demanding but reflective evening. Particularly enjoyable was the opportunity to share our facilities and our ideas with parents and the wider community.