SIXTEEN Dutch secondary school students visited Finn Valley College in Stranorlar last week as part of an educational intercultural exchange.
The third-year students were accompanied by two teachers, one of whom is a native of Donegal – Clare Scanlon who hails from Killygordon.
Clare is teaching English at Elzendaal College in Boxmeer and was one of the organisers of the tour which took in Donegal and Northern Ireland.
The first day in Donegal was spent at school where the Dutch boys and girls got an insight into a normal day at school for the students of the Finn Valley College.
They also got to meet all the classes and their teachers, taste some typical school dinner and even got to do some team-building during the PE class.
Later that evening they spent time with their host families which was either at home or at the cinema.
Early Saturday morning the students departed for Belfast for their last tour of Belfast City.
The tour was guided by a local teacher who gave an interesting insight into the lives of the working-class people of Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
The Dutch students were enthralled by what they had seen on both sides of the border and were overwhelmed by the warm welcome they encountered from their Donegal host families and from all staff and pupils at Finn Valley College.
Miss Scanlon, Miss Weevers and all the Dutch students would like to thank Kathleen Boland, Frank Dooley, the host families and all the staff and pupils at the Finn Valley College for having them at their school and homes.
Both parties intend to work together in the future and hopefully the Dutch will get their chance to welcome the Irish students to the Netherlands in the near future.
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT EDITION TODAY
and get access to our archive editions dating back to 2007(CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE)