Japan

Edogawa Ward

Tavistock College is justifiably proud of its links with Japan and Edogawa Ward in Tokyo. We are one of very few schools in Britain who have such an exchange programme with Japan. Tavistock College is in fact the only school in Britain which has been approved for inclusion in the programme of events for the 2005 EU Japan Year of People-to-People Exchanges.

Recent Exchange Visits

• March 2013
• November 2012

Previous Exchange Visits

• March 2012
  
  

  Students feature on prime time Japanese television
  Tavistock College students appeared on prime time Japanese TV after taking part in a prestigious exchange programme. The students were filmed welcoming 20 young people from Japan as part of Edogawa Youth Wings exchange programme – a multi million dollar project designed to turn the city's young people into global citizens.

  Crispin Chambers, Tavistock College's head of Japanese, explained: "The visit was shown on Tokyo TV and viewed potentially by 12 million people. The mayor of Edogawa City in eastern Tokyo finances the programme which promotes internationalisation at secondary school level. They send 20 students to England, the USA, New Zealand and Canada, and over 600 pupils applied to come to Tavistock this year where they took part on a twelve day programme staying with families in and around the Tavistock area."

  Competition for places is tough and Japanese students must make a presentation about why they want to take part, as well as completing a written test in English.

  "The Japanese students all spoke to the cameras in Tokyo about their Tavistock memories and how much they enjoyed coming," added Mr Chambers. "It's the first time it's been on Japanese TV but they wanted to emphasise how important it is to travel and become global citizens by living with families and learning about the local culture. During their stay we took them to Exeter and horse riding at Mary Tavy, to Tintagel, Lydford gorge, the Eden Project and then on to Oxford. Each morning they studied English for three hours at the Alexander Centre."

  Tavistock College is one of just a handful of schools in the UK which have an exchange programme with Japan and teaches Japanese to GCSE and A level. A total of 20 Tavistock College students will make a return trip in November, visiting three schools and staying with Japanese host families.

  To view the film – which is only available in Japanese visit www.news.city.edogawa.tokyo.jp/