The Global Immersion programme to UK has been an annual event since 2009 starting with teacher exchange visits to further having students engaged in partner school activities. Every year has been a new experience for all those who participated in the programme. Learning experience was always unique. On the 8^th year of the student exchange programme in June 2018, a group of 07 students and a teacher had a very different experience, as this time there were two new schools that had to be visited which was exciting and also a new place to explore. Lots of ideas were bubbling in the minds of the students and also this was the first experience for all the students who were in the group.

The Saioneers had a chance to stay in a home like a family in Bath. The visit started with Norton Hill Secondary School, Bath, where students had a full day learning activity. For the entire day, each SAIoneer was paired with a student from Norton Hill who went together to attend classes like French, Physics, Geography, English, Maths and Dance. They also visited the Welton Primary School, which is part of the Midsomer Norton Schools Academy. In both the Schools, special assemblies were conducted by SAI students to showcase their school as well as the culture and tradition of India.

20180606_100457 While at Bath, the team explored the various monuments in the historical City like the famous Roman Bath, Bath Abbey, Jane Austen Centre, etc. A city tour also helped the students know more about the history of the place while they saw the Pulteney Bridge, the Bath University,the Tharmae Bath Spa etc.

Students had a wonderful opportunity to get a guided tour of the Oxford University. They visited different colleges like the Balliol College, Trinity College and St John’s College. They got to see the five famous libraries like Weston, Bodleian, Magdalen, Merton and Codrington and garnered as much information they could from the guide. Visiting the Oxford University was a great learning experience for the students as it helped them to widen their knowledge on Colleges of Higher education and Renowned International Universities.

They started their tour of London with a visit to Madam Tussauds, where students had a wonderful time clicking photographs with their favourite stars, followed by visiting London Eye, which made the students spellbound witnessing the panoramic view of the city from the capsule. They also got to see the British Parliament house, the Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square and the Westminster Abbey. The City tour of London gave students a highly enriching experience. The GIP team to UK had their own share of fun-filled activity at Shrek’s Adventure, which also gave them a brilliant interactive and immersive walk-through experience. A cruise ride on the river Thames was a unique experience for the students as well. There they learnt about several historical facts including the history of the seven bridges from the guide. They also got to witness the Changing the Guard ceremony outside the Buckingham Palace on their last day of their trip. Students loved the colourful spectacle and British pageantry.

GIP is one such endeavour that provides a unique learning experience for the students, bringing in a significant impact in their knowledge repository and tuning their mind-set to adapt the universal learning experience. It is an excellent method to instill independent thinking and bestow in them the confidence to build their dreams and reach their goals. The students learn a lot of life skills like adaptation to different situations, respecting other culture and also managing their own self without depending on their parents. They get ideas to plan for their higher education in a reputed global university as well.