By Brittany Brewster
Twenty-two sixth-form students of Campion College in Jamaica will get to experience life at Harrison College until the end of the month, as part of the Harrison-Campion Student Exchange Programme.
The visit comes as a result of a partnership that started last year, when 20 sixth-form students from Harrison College visited Campion College in Kingston, Jamaica, on October 25, for one week.
As he welcomed the delegation of Campion students during a ceremony on Wednesday, at the Crumpton street school, Chairman of the Board at the Harrison College, Andrew Pilgrim QC stressed the importance of having regional exchange programmes.
“A lot of old people like me in Barbados, and maybe in Kingston, Kingstown, or Port-of-Spain, believe that this is a region in which we are essentially all the same. We believe it is important for a Bajan from Connell Town to walk in the Kalingo territory in Dominica… and we believe that as a people we are stronger if we are united,” he said.
In an interview with Barbados TODAY, Sixth-Form Year Head at Harrison College Carl Applewhaite echoed those sentiments, while also noting that experiential learning across the region is better than traditional textbook learning.
“Regional integration is beyond talk. So we have to see what our Caribbean neighbours are like and help each other to shape an identity. We have a Barbadian identity, and we have a Jamaican identity, so we have to look to see what those are on their own and then see who we are as a people.
“When we talk about our people and our culture, being immersed in it is what we want to expose not only Harrison College students but Campion College students to,” Applewaithe said.
He further explained that being stronger on the international stage starts first with regional integration and the student exchange sets the tone for more regional unity.
“It starts with students owning it. They are the ones who are going to live in the future and shape the future that we live in,” he added.
Head boy of Campion, Matthew Wilmot, said he was happy to see education from a different perspective and praised both schools for taking part in the student exchange programme.
“We have to fix segregation of the region at the foundational level and that starts through educational institutions. So exchange programmes like these which connect cultures, broaden students’ horizons and make them more aware bring the Caribbean community closer so we can rise in the face of globalisation,” he said.
During their stay, the Campion Students, accompanied by their Principal Grace Baston, will have a packed itinerary as they experience classes at the Harrison College and other educational and cultural activities.
Yesterday the ‘Campionites’ were welcomed with a guard of honour and attended the senior assembly and classes. They also took tours of the school. For the rest of the week, the delegation will visit the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Parliament and Bridgetown.
On Monday, [the final day of the reciprocal visit] they will take part in a joint student-led regional educational summit where both schools come together to present on issues of importance such as the impact of globalisation on Caribbean identity, crime and deviance and its impact on the economy and sustainable tourism within the Caribbean.
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