With 11 new students starting at the beginning of 2023 and four more due to start at the beginning of Term 3, the international department is certainly growing.

We have a new ESOL teacher, Mrs Karen Staples, who is working with the boys to help them with their English skills, NCEA work, and their understanding of New Zealand culture. 

In the classroom this includes the classic family card game Last Card. This has created lots of laughter as the boys learn to give instructions in English, make new rules and yell the words “Last Card”!

Sport is always a good way to make new friends, and the boys have joined various sports teams and are representing St Bede’s in rugby, table tennis, basketball, football and water polo. Sport is not the only activity you will see these boys in, and one of our students is a member of Fifty Toes, the Year 13 band which made it through to the Rockquest Regional Finals.

With the July holidays coming up, those in the Boarding Hostel will again go to Homestays and experience Kiwi life with a family. This helps their English and understanding of New Zealand culture and gives them an opportunity to meet different people in Christchurch and try new things.

The ESOL room and International Department can be found on the top floor of the COE building, with a balcony and view out over the front fields. This is where the boys congregate for Māna Tane, and often during lunch and interval.

Throughout all their experiences, the boys are learning and improving their English, making new friends and learning what it is to be a Bedean.