Work Experience Abroad
There are opportunities for students to take part in a work experience programme during the French Exchange and through Stockport’s German partner town of Heilbronn, there is the opportunity to work in Germany for up to four weeks during the summer vacation period.
Aquinas Romanian Scholarship
Every year one or sometimes two students from the Romanian partner college will study at the College. Two students from previous years have completed A levels and won scholarships to Oxford University.
India
In October 2003 the
Aquinas-India Partnership was set up to help underprivileged children in Mumbai. Working primarily with the charity Prem Dan (“Gift of Love” in Hindi), we have sponsored children and provided funds for a social worker. We have also established links with St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai, as well as regularly holding fundraising events. These have helped to sponsor children, and contributed towards the costs for a home for orphans. We have worked with children from the streets and slums.
Each February for the past four years we have taken a group of students to work with the children at Prem Dan schools in Mumbai, particularly the Garden School in Colaba. May 2005 saw Sister Patricia (who is in charge of Prem Dan) visit Aquinas College to thank us for our support. We have also taken a party of teachers to work with the children in Mumbai.
We have supported the Garden School with materials and for the past two years provided a hot mid day meal for children at Reay Road school. We usually have two or three students each year undertaking a gap placement working at the Garden School for up to three months.
Currently we co-ordinate the sponsorship for some 60 children. The sponsors are individual Aquinas staff and students as well as former students and friends of the college.
Aquinas College students continue to work to raise funds for the AIP throughout the academic year. Further information may be obtained on request from
aip@aquinas.ac.uk
Euroweek
Euroweek is an EU project that takes place in Sept/Oct each year. Eight students and two teachers from each EU country get together to make friends and learn about each other. Aquinas has been representing the UK at Euroweek since 2001.
Euroweek is a fantastic experience, you can meet young people from all over the EU and get a flavour of 22 different countries with just one trip! The official language of Euroweek is English and all participants and hosts speak excellent English. One student described it as
" the best experience I've had at Aquinas"
Activities in the week include dances and presentations from each country and an international buffet where you can sample culinary delights from all over the EU.
The host country changes every year-in 2012 Euroweek was in Czech Republic and in 2013 it will be in Estonia.
Euroweek 2012 Czech Republic
Other International Events at Aquinas College
Performing Arts Trip to Barcelona - Annually, in July, performing arts students, including Dance and Drama students, attend a course in Barcelona.
Conservation work for Environmental Science - Students studying Environmental Science have the opportunity to take part in a conservation project. In previous years this has involved saving leather backed turtles in Costa Rica and most recently in 2008 the project was in Tobago. In Summer 2011 a group will travel to the Philippines for a conservation diving project for 4 weeks.
Costa Rica 2006
Politics Visit to New York - Politics conference - United Nations New York - March 2010. Every two years both AS and A2 politics students have the opportunity to take part in a visit to New York, engaging in a range of activities, one of which is an international conference, discussing global issues such as peace, security and poverty.
Sports Tour - The sports department are planning a new tour to start in the summer of 2010 - watch this space for developments.
Anglo-French/German fellowship programme - This lets A level students of any of the main modern foreign languages improve a range of skills, for example: writing project proposal, liaising in two languages, conducting research (often interviews) in the foreign language, writing a final report for the British Council, and, most importantly, learning to live in another culture.'
The most recent student to take part in this programme commented as follows:
‘This February I was lucky enough to be whisked off to France for two weeks. From flights to ice cream at Andernos-Les-Bains, the entire trip was sponsored by a British Council student fellowship programme. Going beyond foreign exchanges, my fortnight in France allowed me to immerse myself in the language, working on a project of my choice, without English speakers’
Recent additions to the international programme:
AS History
Trip to Krakow/Auschwitz in early February for 4 days. (The trip is directly related to the 'Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust' unit.)
Classical Civilisation
Trip to Rome/Pompeii the week before Easter for 6 days. (Directly related to AS Classical Civilisation- Roman Architecture and Town Planning unit- but also open to all Classical Civilisation and Archaeology students in lower and upper sixth.)
International Publications
Also, as a part of the Comenius projects, there is an annual international Comenius Magazine, to which students can contribute. In 2003 – 2004 Aquinas College was responsible for the production of the Magazine, and since then Aquinas students have always contributed to the subsequent issues of the Comenius Magazine.
You can read issues of the Comenian Magazine and The Comenian newsletter in the College Learning Centre or click on the downloads on this page.