At the start of the academic year the international induction felt busier than ever, with a super group of 35 new pupils joining us from overseas in Years 9, 10 and 11 and managed deftly by a team of 12 Upper College student supporters. Alongside inauguration and orientation, pupils learned about the value of our peer support programme at College. External speaker Isabelle Pan provided a useful workshop on social and cultural adjustments before pupils made a prompt departure to Gloucester Cathedral for an architectural tour and a smattering of Harry Potter history.

With Sky Jamieson and Ivan Luhovyi as Upper Sixth Prefects for Internationalism our committee met twice termly to discuss key events and provisions in making our international pupils’ time at College an integrated and enjoyable one. Following a convivial induction reunion Mr Nick Nelson took the induction helpers for a celebratory meal at Fioro Lounge on the Bath Road. We enjoyed celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhongqiu Jie, or the Mooncake Festival, on College Field, in addition to International Students’ Day.

We brought in the Lunar New Year in style in February, with two celebratory feasts for Lower College and Upper College respectively, in our College Pavilion and at The Golden Mountain Restaurant in Cheltenham. However, the annual International Dinner in March was inevitably the highlight of our international calendar, with a spectacular menu selected by the pupils themselves, replete with iced mango moons for dessert! This is always a special occasion at which we thank our excellent EAL staff, student supporters, and more generally recognise the collective endeavours of the myriad talented international pupils at College. This year we have been blessed with some erudite and informative student-led presentations in Chapel, most recently on the significance of Diwali and Ramadan.

Mr Nick Nelson