Thoughts From International Students

Bill:

”I’m Bill Bi. I’m a new Year 9 student for RHS. The school is very busy and I feel very fulfilled. This school is so big that it takes you a long time to walk from a side to another. The school is really different to the school in China. In RHS the food is actually really nice, but the food is not enough. In China the food is sometimes fine, but most of the time it is terrible. For prep it is very different. English students are so lucky because there is so much homework in China. There is a problem in RHS: we don’t have much time to FaceTime our family. Maybe school don’t want us to get homesick. But I still miss my family. We have lots of activity and lots of classes, so we don’t have much spare time. However, compared with school in China school bags are smaller and lighter. Before I came to this school I thought that the bedrooms would be big. But, when I arrived at this school, I realised the wardrobe is so small! And the bed is too small. This school has so many things it can improve. However, I still like RHS. It’s the best school I have ever been to.”

Carmen:

”As a new international student at RHS, I would like to share a few of my thoughts.

My name is Carmen and I just joined Year 9 from Spain.
During this summer I felt excited to go to RHS because it is an amazing experience, I felt nervous and happy at the same time. I also thought a lot: if I’m going to make friends, if the classes are going to be very difficult. I have also thought that on the one hand I am going to miss my family, my friends but on the other hand I felt super happy to come.

My first impression before arriving was that RHS will be an enormous school, a lot of people, a beautiful place, the bedrooms little bit bigger, more food to eat in lunch or dinner.

Now that I have been at RHS for five weeks I have noticed that my school in Spain is very different compared to this school. But now that I have been here 1 month more or less, I’m happy staying here.

What is different between the classes in RHS and in my school in Spain?
Here we move class for each subject with different teachers, and in my other school I only had one class room for all the subjects and the teachers moved. On the other hand, at this school the people normally speak so quietly and it’s so big compared to the other. In my old school there was never silence!

How many people are there usually in class?
Between 10-20 children here, and in my other school there were 30. It seems to me better to be less in a class, I like it more. I find that you can learn more and better because the teacher explains to a few people. In my old school, it was more difficult for the teacher to explain to you individually, if you did not understand something.

Is doing Divisions or CCF normal for you?
For me doing divisions and CCF is quite strange. Only to see uniforms that we have to wear and how we have to parade. But I find it interesting, although the downside is that we have to polish the shoes and iron and prepare the uniform.

Do you understand the lessons and the teachers?
Normally I don’t understand everything but more or less 50% of the lessons depending on the class. In science I find it very difficult to understand because of the language and also the lesson.”

Chloé:

”I’m Chloé and I just joined year 9 from France and as a new international student at RHS I would like to share a few of my thoughts.

During the summer holidays I had mixed emotions. I felt glad because I was going to improve my English and discover new people and new ways of living but I felt sad because I was going to leave my family, my friends, my house, my country and my dog!

I imagined RHS to be enormous, with big bedrooms but we have really small bedrooms and wardrobes. I believed that there was going to be a real shop in the school. And that we can have our phones all the time. I thought that they going to have more people in our classroom and that they are going to have the same people in your class all the time. And I thought that the WIFI was going to work better.

Now that I have been at RHS for few weeks I have noticed that we have to change classroom after each lesson, something really new for me. How many times do you change classroom per day? A lot of times! At the beginning the lessons were really hard to understand. Can you imagine not be able to understand your teacher because your teacher speaks too quickly for you?
At RHS I have different subjects than in France. For example, we have compass and I still don’t understand what is it! I don’t have DT in France and I really enjoy it!
Can you imagine having about 35 pupils in your classrooms? In France we are in the same classroom all the time and the teacher have to change classroom and it’s sometimes really noisy and you can’t focus on the lessons. That is why I find classroom really nice and quiet at RHS.
How do you find PSHE? I find it really interesting and really important to talk about this but in France it a little bit taboo and teacher don’t want to talk about it.
In my school in France there are just day pupils so we don’t have breakfast and dinner at school but you can stay at school for lunch if you have lessons during lunch time for example.
The food at RHS is 100% better than in my school in France. Except for the dessert which are really weird.
What do you think to eating sausages for breakfast? I find this so disgusting!
Overall my life at RHS is really good. I really enjoy it. If it was up to me I would stay until year 13.
Even if at the beginning I was homesick and nervous. Teachers and pupils are really kind with new people.RHS is the best experience of my life.”

Elena:

”I’m Elena and this is my first year at RHS. I’m from Valencia, Spain I’m 13 years old and I’m in Year 9.

Before coming here I was very nervous, because I didn’t know that I could feel happy. My father told me not to have such high expectations, as then I might be disappointed.

The days before arriving I didn’t believe that this could be happening to me and that’s why I read the admission letter more than twice a day. Finally the 1st of September arrived, the day that I would see my new school and my new house. I thought I wasn’t going to cry, but saying goodbye to my parents was very difficult, because although I like to be here, I also miss everything I have in Valencia. The first two weeks were difficult, since I got lost in the corridors. But I always had the great good fortune of having people in my year who speak my language and were willing to help me so I would not feel alone. And after getting through the first two weeks, I think it’s going to be one of the best experiences of my life.

How many times do you change class a day?

After each class we leave the classroom to go to the next one. People who have been in RHS for longer find this normal, but I find it quite strange, since in Spain we only change a class once a week, it is the teachers who move from class to class for the next lesson.

Is it normal for you to have a class like CCF?

Maybe for the children that are in RHS from Year 7 or who have been in the school for more than a year this class may seem normal. But in my school in Valencia we don’t have any subject similar to CCF, and I don’t know any school in Valencia that has this activity.

What do you think about PSHE?

In my school of Valencia we don’t have a class similar to this one, only occasionally a person comes to the school who specialises in these type of topics and talks to us about it.

This is my 5th week in the school and it is better than I had imagined it. RHS is a cozy place and most of the people here are friendly and want to help each other. Valencia is my home, but I feel that RHS could be too.”

Pigi:

”I am Pigi. I am in year 9. My first impressions before I came here I felt bad and nervous because I knew I would go to another country and leave my city, my house, my friends, my dog, my parents and the beautiful food and my places which I love. But I knew it would be better to come here because the school is easier with good teachers and I am feeling better because I will know new friends, less prep and long holidays.

How are the classes different in RHS and in my country?

In Italy the calendar is so different, we start school on 12th of September until 23rd of December and we start again 6th January and we finish 9th of June.
We start lessons at 7:55 a.m. and we finish at 1:35 p.m. and we go to eat at home and we don’t go back to school but we stay at home and we have a lot of study and prep.
In Italy the lessons during the day are so boring and tiring because the teacher continues to explain without stopping, we don’t do any exercises or activity in class, or the teacher interrogates, and you must be ready then, you must also study every evening.”

Leonardo:

”When I first came to the school I was really anxious and worried, but at the same time happy. All of the year 13 and the teachers that were here were very nice and they helped me with everything.
I like this school because of the people and the way of teaching here is interesting and helps you a lot. I also like how the school focuses in sports and its level is very good and challenging.
My boarding house, St Vincent, is where I have the most fun, thanks to my friends and all the games we can play in the house. I sleep in a room of three, my roommates are very fun and nice and they help me with everything I need.
The education here in my opinion is better than in Mexico and the teachers help me more and teach more. They send me a lot of prep but it helps me and challenges me more.
Here in the school we do marching and its very fun and cool. In my first divisions I had lots of fun and it entertained me.
So far I like the school a lot and if I had an opportunity of staying for another year I would say yes.”