Report of UK-Qatar Student Exchange

Introduction
At the culmination of the first year of the RSDU pilot project, a mutual exchange visit between Umm Al Qura Model School for Boys and Oxley Park Primary School was planned. This was to facilitate research dialogue between the students of the two schools and provide an opportunity for those students who had collaborated on joint research projects in the two countries and/or comparative research to meet and explore their findings further. It was also a very important opportunity for students from both countries to learn about each other’s culture and school systems.

UK visit
On Saturday 7th June I escorted a group of 5 students ( 3 boys and 2 girls) and one teacher from Oxley Park Primary UK to Qatar.

On Sunday 8th June the three boys spent the day at Umm Al Qura School. They joined in lessons and had the opportunity to experience Qatari school life, including a sports session. Before the end of the school day, a presentation event was arranged, attended by members of the School Governing Board, parents, teachers and Umm Al Qura students. The three UK boys and nine Umm Al-Qura boys presented their research to the invited audience and were presented with certificates from the Open University.

On the same day the two girls spent the day at Qatar Girls’ Prep School. They similarly joined in lessons and got to experience Qatari school life. The two girls presented their research to the Research Club and had an interactive questioning session about their research and also an opportunity to discuss the research the Qatari girls were undertaking. There were many points of commonality both in the research topics and the research approach and the Qatari girls were enthusiastic to continue the communication by email. The Qatari girls plan to finish their research projects by the end of term but the work was sufficiently far advanced that a productive dialogue could be had.
On Monday 9th June the three boys attended Omar Boys’ Prep School. They were greeted by the Principal and some of his staff and given a tour of the school before attending a presentation event. Here the three UK boys and 7 Omar boys presented their research projects to an invited audience which included students, teachers, governors, the Principle and, from the SEC, Dr Gene, Coordinator of RSDU and Dr Kathy, English specialist. Journalists were also in attendance and interviewed the UK boys about their research experience.

On the same day the two girls spent their time at Al Bayan Girls’ Prep School. Al Bayan Prep joined the RSDU initiative later than the other target schools but are now making good progress towards finishing their research projects by the end of term. However, even though they were not in a position to present their own research, the Al Bayan students were able to listen to presentations by the UK girls and to ask questions and discuss some of the research issues these raised. The UK girls joined in lessons and experienced what Qatari school life was like first hand. Conversations with them later in the day revealed that they had found the whole process extremely stimulating and enjoyable.

On Wednesday 10th the five UK children had a tour of the Al Jazeera Children’s TV Studios and were able to watch the live recording of a discussion programme run by a child presenter. There was an opportunity for a celebration party laid on by the Principle of Umm Al Qura before leaving for the airport on Wednesday evening.

Qatari visit
On Wednesday 25th June five boys from the Research Club and Umm Al Qura arrived in the UK for a short exchange visit.

They spent Thursday 26th at Oxley Park Primary School where they joined in lessons and a football training session. After school there was a presentation event in front of teachers, governors, parents and students. Here the five Umm Al Qura boys presented their research projects in English to a very enthusiastic audience who appreciated the significance of the Qatari boys presenting in an additional language, the standard of both the English and the research projects was much admired by the Oxley Park audience. Presentation certificates – the Special Governor Award for Outstanding Achievement – were made to the Umm Al Qura boys along with some souvenir gifts. This was followed by a celebration tea party and an outing to the ‘Snow Dome’ in Milton Keynes.

On Friday 27th a trip to the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum in London was organised and an opportunity for the Qatari boys to see some of the famous sights of London including Buckingham Palace and the Changing of the Guard.

Saturday 28th was an opportunity for souvenir shopping before preparing for the night flight home.

Reflections on the Exchange visit
It was a very exciting opportunity for those students lucky enough to be able to take part in this exchange visit. A very strong bond was forged between the two Principles of the schools who are keen to maintain contact and continue to collaborate on more research projects in future years. Talking to the UK students and their parents it was clearly apparent that they saw this as the biggest experience of their lives and that they had gained a great deal from it. Apart from the collaboration on the research front and the accelerated learning that this participation precipitated in both student groups, the increased understanding of each other’s culture, religion, customs and values was hugely beneficial.

Because of the expense involved in facilitating an exchange visit of this nature, it is not something that can easily be done on a large scale. However, it is certainly something to be encouraged wherever opportunities and funding are available. As the RSDU initiative rolls out on a larger scale over the coming years, it may be worth considering a regular exchange event, which might be sponsored – and which might be offered as a prize for students producing high quality research studies. Exchange visits with other countries should also be encouraged and nurtured. Equally, it would be good to build on the strong links that have already been made.