Thank You

The Tokai Study Abroad Summer Programme for 2016 has come to an end. All the boys are now safely back with their families in Japan. This year has been a very eventful learning journey for them all. The boys have been fantastic. In each of the three locations that I visited, Edinburgh, Marlborough and Malahide, I was told that this year’s group was the most outgoing and friendly group that had come from Tokai in all the years we have been running these trips. There was a really fun atmosphere in the air led by some particularly energetic and big-spirited individuals. Their courage allowed the whole group to be lifted to new heights.

The group at Fettes College in Scotland was enthusiastically led by Mr Miyachi and Mr Hibino and the two weeks passed safely and productively. This year Learning Journeys was well represented by Claudia Matthews who really developed the programme to new heights winning everybody’s hearts with her cheerfulness and her excellent care for the details of the day to day running of the programme. We hope that Claudia will be able to lead future Learning Journeys groups.

One of the highlights of the trip to Scotland was the Talent Show won by our very talented student Yosuke Hattori. His energy and fun attitude were such an inspiration to the other students. The discos and Scottish events were also great fun. During the two weeks, the students visited most of the main sights of Edinburgh and were even, by special invitation, able to see inside the Scottish Parliament. The trip to St. Andrews, the home of golf was another highlight.

We got very good feedback from the Fettes teachers about the Tokai boys’ conduct in their English lessons and on the excursions. Greg Burrell, Programme Manager said that this year the boys integrated with the other groups and individual students better than in any previous year. This was helped by them being in Carrington House with a lot of individual students from a wide variety of other countries. The group seemed to really bond well with the other groups and the students were able to tell me at least 10 different nationalities of people with whom they had made friends. That’s one of the most important goals of the programme – to build bridges with the rest of the world and for students to understand that they can use their English to communicate and to make friends. 

We can see this very clearly at Japan Corner. That’s when the boys have a chance to show off Japanese things such as origami, happi, kendama, furoshiki and so on. People always love seeing their own names written in kanji and learning how to use chopsticks and folding fans. This year, the event was a triumph. The other teenagers, young kids and adults are fascinated by this display of cool Japanese culture.

This year’s group should be very proud of themselves. They have been excellent ambassadors for their families, for Tokai, and for Japan. I hope that their experiences will have a positive effect on their further English studies and that they will continue to broaden their minds through study abroad and developing friendships with people around the world and with foreigners living in Japan. I also hope that they will keep in touch with us and with the people they met in Scotland, building up their network of contacts and friendships. Some of them may even want to join the Tokai programme next year.

This year we celebrate that 500 Tokai boys have studied abroad during the past 13 summers. That is something that the Tokai teachers who have made this possible should be very proud of. Without their energy and dedication none of this would have happened. Particular thanks go to Mr Tatsuya Ito who has been an inspiration to the whole programme. He makes close friendships everywhere he goes and that makes him the best role model of all for the boys. We hope that those students who have enjoyed themselves will share their adventures with their families and ‘kohai’ back in Japan. This will ensure that the programme goes from strength to strength.

Finally, a great big thank you to all the parents and grandparents back in Japan who have supported this project. I can assure you it is a wonderful gift to your sons and grandsons.

It’s a Learning Journey!