Euroscola - Students in Strasbourg

Twelve Stroud High School girls represent the whole of the UK in the European Parliament

 

The European Union is often discarded as unimportant and unnecessary by the young people of today. This attitude is one that Euroscola aims to change. Twelve girls from Stroud High School Sixth Form were selected to represent the United Kingdom in this annual event that endeavours to unite youths from all over Europe to debate and discuss the pressing issues of today’s society.

 

After delayed trains, the possibility of spending a night on the platform and a welcoming hotel in Lille, we finally reached the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Friday 12 February. On arrival, as our teacher was taking a group photograph a passing woman offered to take the teacher’s photograph with the group and asked where the group was from. When Mr Prenter replied Stroud High School, the woman burst out laughing and said “Don’t you recognise your old pupil!” It turned out that she was Emma McClarkin, a past Stroud High Student who is now an MEP; an amazing reality check that demonstrated the exciting potential the future holds.

 

Stroud High School students in the European Parliament in Strasbourg

 

 

Once inside the architecturally impressive Louis Weiss building, we were seated in the same room that MEPs themselves debate in, along with almost five hundred young representatives from all over Europe.  Evie Skinner, our elected speaker, then had to give an introductory speech to this expansive audience about our sixth form and if that wasn’t hard enough, she had to deliver it in French! At the end of the day she had to carry the Union Flag alongside the flags of all the other twenty-six member states.

 

Following the other countries’ speeches was Question Time. The floor was opened to us and we were given the chance to ask representatives from the EP questions. These ranged from queries over the basic set up of the Parliament to its stance on unemployment and climate change.
Over lunch we were invited to converse with the representatives of other countries through the “Eurogame”; a quiz with each question in a different language! We were then split into working groups and sent to committee chambers to discuss current European priorities such as the EP’s contribution to and assertion on the world stage, combating poverty and exclusion, the environment, youth unemployment, the role of democracy and the future of Europe. Interestingly, out of the six mixed nationality groups, English was the voted language of choice even though we were in a clear minority.
After two hours of discussion and debate we had reached enough conclusive proposals on our designated topic areas to present to the other groups. We were given the opportunity to vote on each group’s proposal as to whether they should be carried forward for further discussion or not using the official system used by MEPs.

 

On our way home, a mutual feeling of responsibility set in and the true extent of the EP’s influence and power was realised and enforced by the sight of hundreds of Palestinian protesters arriving in Strasbourg and walking towards the EP; the building we had been in the day before. This image was one that imposed the idea that our proposals could affect the lives of Europeans was a daunting yet inspiring prospect. It was an awesome responsibility to be the only representatives from the UK at the EP with twenty-six other countries’ representatives present, and all twelve of us came away feeling a duty to be ambassadors for the EU back in our own country.

BY AMY NEASON

 

 

Euroscola visit in the Parliament from Glasgow

 

The October issue of the Moden Languages Newsletter (pdf, 5 MB) published by Lourdes Secondary School in Glasgow had a specific European theme which also features 
The Glasgow Euroscola visit to Strasbourg  among others.



Glasgow Euroscola visit – 19th to 25th October 2009

 

A group of 20 Glasgow students from 7 city schools (Bellahouston Acad-emy, Cleveden Secondary, Holyrood Secondary, Jordanhill College, Lourdes Secondary, St. Roch’s Secondary and Shawlands Academy) re-cently visited Strasbourg for a variety of linguistic and cultural activities.
The group was also joined by 5 students from schools outwith the authority (St. Luke’s Barrhead, St. Matthew’s Saltcoats and Williamwood).
During the long coach journey the participants soon integrated seamlessly and, on arriving at their destination, eagerly embarked upon a very eclectic programme, including:

Le sondage – the students asked les Strasbourgeois questions in French based on Scotland and analysed their findings.

A visit to la Nécropole Militaire – a local, private cemetery represent ing victims of 3 conflicts– the Franco-Prussian War, la Grande Guerre (a student background topic) and the 2nd World War

Le défi de Strasbourg – a 3 part (cultural, linguistic and light-hearted) challenge

La journée Euroscola – a reunion of more than 600 people in the European Parliament where students from some 22 countries debate European issues in the main represented languages, especially French. All our participants had such a wonderful day.

The visit culminated in a ceilidh attended by many of our students’ new European friends.
The event was a complete success and greatly enhanced the linguistic confidence of every participant.
Glasgow city council schools are particularly grateful to the following sponsors for providing the funding necessary to allow this visit to take place:

The International Office

Employment and Regeneration Services

Participating schools.

The Parliament

Un grand merci! 

 

 

Euroscola trip in September 2009 with Leicestershire Students (17th-19th September)

By Aditi Shah & Laura Goodfellow, Beauchamp College, Oadby

 

The aim of the programme was to bring together secondary school students from the 25 European Union countries and to enable them to gain an insight into the workings of the European Parliament whilst learning about the lives, views and expectations of young people from other EU countries.
Students from 6 schools across Leicestershire met up at County Hall at 1:30am, ready to head for Stansted Airport to catch a flight to Baden-Baden (Germany).

 

Arriving in Germany, we took the coach to the youth hostel in Strasbourg. Once we had had the opportunity to freshen up, we took the tram to the city centre, taking our first view of this wonderful old, characterful city, appreciating its beauty and its history. Lunch at a typical Alsatian restaurant was a different experience as we tried some Tarte flambée. This is an Alsatian dish composed of thin bread dough rolled out in a circle or a rectangle, which is covered by crème fraîche, onions and bacon. After the meal, we took a boat ride, a wonderful way to get one’s bearings in this city, which presented us with a lot of photo opportunities.

After too little sleep and an early wake up call, we made our way to the European Parliament building. First it was breakfast; the hall was full of students from all across Europe. Then we entered the dome which was rather incredible. After an introduction to how the EU works, student representatives from each country were called upon to introduce themselves and their country. Laura Goodfellow and Meriem Derf did us proud with their flawless speech in French.

After learning about how the EU works and what the topical issues and areas are at this time, we went for lunch with all the other students. Whilst at lunch, we were given a quiz to do, for which we had to create a team with 3 students from different countries in order to qualify for the prize. This was a great opportunity to socialise with students from all around the EU and learn more about their culture, their education system and their values. The visit to the European Parliament engaged us in 'a variety of social, political, economic and environmental problems' through the five key debates which the students take part in during the trip. These covered European democracy, the environment, the place of European values in the world, youth and the future of Europe.

5 working groups were created to go away and deliberate on each of these topics individually. In each mini debate, a secretary and a spokesperson (who steered the debate) was elected by the group to stand in the hemisphere to present the conclusions of its discussions to all 500 participants at the end of the afternoon. Within each working group, the students were encouraged to put forward their ideas about what the strengths and the weaknesses are of the current system in place, for example, concerning EU actions on the environment. We then discussed about what changes we would implement to try and slow down global warming and also whether or not that was our responsibility. 

Once the discussions were over, it was the job of the spokesperson and the secretary to summarise all the ideas which had come up so that they could present them to all the 500 participants. Once the secretary had told the floor about the discussions, the debate was open to everyone to put forward their own ideas, suggestions and questions which had to be answered by the spokesperson. Once the deliberations were over, all 500 students had to vote on the topic, whether they agreed, disagreed or abstained on the motion being discussed.

As working groups consist of students from several member states it is essential that participants have at least a basic knowledge of one of the other European Union languages.  By using their languages to communicate with other participants, students come to see foreign languages not as a barrier but rather as a way of understanding the problems, opinions and expectations of young people from other European countries. It was a great opportunity for students, in particular linguists from Leicestershire to gain a greater insight into the breadth and depth of cultural values and differences of young people across the EU, an opportunity to make new friends and to gain new perspectives.

 

 

Euroscola - Students from Ribston Hall High School in Strasbourg

 

RIBSTON HALL DEBATE KEY EUROPEAN ISSUES…IN FRENCH!

 

 

A group of nine students and their teachers from Ribston Hall High School have recently returned from a triumphant visit to Strasbourg; home of the European Parliament.

 

Outside the Louise Weiss Building

The trip was the result of winning a fiercely contested debate in Shire Hall, against other schools from Gloucestershire.

 

Being victorious at this stage, the school won a subsidised trip to Strasbourg, paid for by the European Parliament and the County Council as part of a scheme to inform students about the parliament and its fundamental role in Europe. 

 

The competition, known across Europe as EUROSCOLA, invited students from all of the member states of the European Union.

 

 

The Louise Weiss Building, home of the European Parliament opened its doors for one day only, allowing over 580 students to take part in an assortment of debates, ranging from environmental policy, globalization through to the future of Europe in the troubled times ahead.

 

The day was jam-packed with opportunities to make friends from all over Europe, learn about the European Union and how it affects our everyday lives and ask vital questions to important European Union administrators.

 

 

 

 

The Ribston Hall students involved all have an explicit interest in politics and were committed from the very start; having produced comprehensive fact sheets, speeches and thoroughly researching the data.  

 

 

Inside the European Parliament Chamber

Topped with courageous individual performances, including in French, from the podium and a brilliant group effort, the team returned from Strasbourg both fulfilled and enlightened and ready to seed a EUROSCOLA legacy for Ribston Hall by developing Year 9 Citizenship lessons on the role of Europe in the lives of UK Citizens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COLEG SIR GAR STUDENTS REPRESENT THE UK IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

 

 

A group of 15 students from Coleg Sir Gar took part in the Euroscola day in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 06 February 2009.

They joined 700 other students from the other EU countries to take on the role of MEPs and debate key issues, such as climate change, democracy and employment.

Euroscola is a programme organised by the European Parliament to bring together students from the 27 EU countries and provide an insight into the Parliament's workings, while learning about the lives, views and expectations of young people from all over the EU.

 

Before the students left for Strasbourg, Lorena from WWEC met them to prepare the topics and to give an overview of the EU and its institutions.
She said "It is an honour to be chosen to represent not only your school, but also the UK and I think the students can be proud of themselves. I hope they have all enjoyed this unique experience."

The skills that the students experienced whilst in the European Parliament ranged from role play as MEPs, public speaking and debating.

For one student in particular speaking in public had always been a challenge, so when she had to stand up in front of 700 people, representing the UK and make a speech in French, her self-confidence really improved. She said: "I was the last one to speak and I started panicking but after the speech, I was fine. I am glad I did it."

Another student said: "It was a long day but it was very interesting and we even used the electronic voting system. We have learnt a lot about the European Parliament and what the MEPs do."


Jeremy Hockridge, lecturer in business studies took the students on the three-day trip. He said, “Students gained knowledge of Wales’s role within Europe and the European Parliament.  They also gained valuable information and evidence for their Welsh Baccalaureate qualification and benefited from meeting students from a variety of EU countries such as France, Estonia and Poland.”

 

 

EUROSCOLA 2009

 

'An amazing inter-cultural experience –meeting people from different nations made me think about my personal views more'

'A superb day – everyone would have got something out of it!'

'I felt like I was part of the EU, I didn’t before'

'This was truly an amazing experience and one that I will never forget!'

 

The happy UK group poses in front of the Loise Weiss building at the end of the Euroscola day

 

 

The fourth visit of the South West hub to the Euroscola Day at the European Parliament in Strasbourg took place from Wednesday 25th until Sunday 29th March, and was the best one yet.  Twenty five Sixth Form students from six schools won a place on the visit after fairly gruelling interviews in French and English where they discussed current European issues.  This year we offered more opportunities to prepare for the Euroscola Day itself on 27th March, running workshops and inviting speakers to give the students an insight into the workings of the EU.

This visit is run as both a French language immersion experience and a fact-finding mission about the EU, although with less French spoken on the Euroscola Day itself, the main language practice is gained through staff speaking only in French and through interviews carried out by the students themselves in the streets of Strasbourg.  The UK government’s decision to make languages optional at Key Stage 4 in schools has been met with expressions of dismay and incomprehension by officials at the Parliament, and so they were very pleasantly surprised with our students’ insistence on speaking in French as much as possible.  Obviously their determination to keep doing so throughout the day was slightly undermined by the number of their peers who tended to speak English rather than French.  This year for the first time the official languages on Euroscola Day had changed from French and English, as in the past, to English, French, German, Italian and Spanish to cater for the growing number of languages spoken within the 20 countries represented on the day we were there.

 

Students listen to the discussions via the many interpreters

 

In preparation for Euroscola Day and the ‘official’ roles which students could take, they were told about the importance of asking questions on burning European issues in the hemicycle, of volunteering to be either secretary or ‘rapporteur’ of their group, or president of their group.  The president of each group would outline the issue discussed, arguments made and conclusions arrived at, and the ‘rapporteur’ would take questions from the floor and respond to any challenges on these issues – neither are very easy tasks.  Normally we are very pleased if 5 or 6 students manage to play an ‘official’ role on the day, but this year the students surpassed all expectations:

 

3 students introduced the South West group to the 505-strong audience and did this in French;
10 students were able to ask questions in the plenary session;
2 students acted as ‘rapporteurs’ for their groups;
1 student was appointed the president of his group;
1 student was in the final of the Euroquiz which everyone took part in;

A grand total of 17 out of 25, with all of the students participating fully in the discussion groups in the afternoon.  It was also interesting to note that out of the 20 questions tabled in the plenary session, 5 were tabled by students from our group i.e. 25% of the questions when they represented only 5% of the audience!

The three students who introduced the group at the beginning of the day, wrote their own contributions in French and one of them summed up their approach to the day –

'Malheureusement le Royaume Uni a une mauvaise réputation quant à l’apprentissage des langues et à son intégrations en Europe.  Mais nous espérons pouvoir changer cette réputation.  Dans notre groupe tout le monde parle au moins une langue étrangère par exemple, italien, allemand et bien sûr français !'

 

Vicky reports back on her group's discussions

 

It goes without saying that staff were very proud indeed of the students’ commitment on the day, and the friendships established both within the group and with students of other nationalities are sure to endure for a long time to come. 



Our evaluation covered the whole 5 days spent in Strasbourg and so I have highlighted at the beginning of the report a few comments specific to Euroscola Day itself.  They all rated the experience between 7/10 and 20/10!!

Additional comments were: 

'Absolutely Amazing!  Had a great day, lovely people and I loved the opportunity to take part …I gained friendships and some good memories – Euro factor!'

'I gained more confidence in using spontaneous French and a better knowledge of the EU'

'Much better than I expected, really enjoyed myself – I personally gained friends and lots of debating experience!'

'Euroscola Day was well organised, lots of different activities, but in the afternoon topic discussion, the groups were too large and the discussion went in circles'

'I gained greater confidence with speaking to others and I felt a part of Europe afterwards'

'Euroscola Day was very informative, an opportunity to meet people from different backgrounds – an excellent experience.  I also gained an idea of what being European was all about, and how important language skills are.'

'It was a great chance to meet people from all over Europe and see what they really thought of us (as our topic discussion group did turn into UK-bashing)!
Personally I gained more confidence in speaking French and I discovered how much more confident I’ve become over the year.'

'Euroscola Day –brilliant!  Sometimes a bit frustrating as everyone wanted to voice their opinions at the same time.  I now feel more informed about Europe, more confident in French'

'I personally gained a new understanding of European cohesion and culture, as well as the attitudes of some people'

'Euroscola Day was excellent – glad to be given an opportunity to speak in front of 500 people!'

'I think my people skills improved a lot because I’m normally quite quiet around new people'

'The day was an amazing experience – liked the set-up of the day and the positivity, and meeting people from other countries.  I was able to make new friends and gained a feeling of unity.'

Comment from a member of staff:

'It was fantastic to see the growth of young people in just 5 days!!  Made me feel very proud as a teacher.'

In a way the more negative comments like ‘UK bashing’ and ‘everyone talking at the same time’ are all part of the experience and also a reality check for the students since they never stop to consider what effect the attitude of UK to the EU, as documented in the media, might have on other Europeans.  It certainly made them think.  Part of their preparation for the day is to carry out interviews in the streets of Strasbourg the day before – they asked a lot of people about their opinions of the EU.  At the time we were there, there were lots of police and CRS walking around the streets in preparation for the NATO conference the next week, so I encouraged one group of students to go and interview the police!  When the girls asked them what they thought of the British attitude to the EU, they replied ‘No comment!’

 

To find out more about EUROSCOLA in detail go to our education website or contact Pamela Powers in the UK Office of the European Parliament (Telephone 020 7227 4336).