John Port Spencer band members participate in traditional exchange with German Gymnasium
Thirty-five students from the Senior Wind Band spent four days in Melle for the 46th exchange with the German Gymnasium.
John Port Spencer Academy sent 35 students and three teachers on the school’s 45th exchange trip to Melle, Germany for four days of music and social activities.
This exchange is one of the longest-running partnerships at John Port, having continued uninterrupted (with the exception of the Covid-19 pandemic) since 1976. Members of the John Port Spencer Academy Senior Wind Band enjoyed social activities and attended a day of school at the Gymnasium (Germany’s version of secondary school), but the highlight of the trip was performing three concerts with the Melle Gymnasium Blasergruppe (wind band).
John Port students enjoyed a morning in school with their friends from the German band and played the traditional England v Germany football match, which they won for the first time in ten years. Both sets of students spent some social time together, improving their language skills with each other. For some of the older students, this was their final exchange and many of them made plans to keep in contact with their German friends.
The exchange is well loved by participants. Mrs Laura O’Brien, the mother of a Year 13 student who has participated for several years, expressed her gratitude to Mrs Sophie Hodgson for her hard work in providing the opportunity: “We can see the close bond and confidence that this trip has always given to the students. Thank you for keeping the Melle exchange alive and a special thanks to Mrs Hodgson for all the hard work that goes into ensuring that our children are able to take their music-making further afield than just the annual school concerts.”
