Seoul Sister

Students from around the world join LWC to further their education, including Anne who has given us an insight into her experience as a full boarder at the College.

 

“The landscape here makes me feel really positive. I love the walk from my House to Main School. I look at the open fields and think this is why I’m here.”

 

South Korean-born Lower Sixth Former, Anne is definitely at home in the Hampshire countryside.

 

She arrived in the 1200 last year, having made the 5,400-mile journey from the South Korean capital, Seoul.

 

“My guardian recommended LWC. She’s an expert in choosing schools and told me that Lord Wandsworth was really green, environmentally friendly and gave her a really positive feeling,” Anne explains. “She said that the teachers here are really supportive and the class sizes are small.”

 

The lure of studying in the UK came as Anne developed a love of art. “I started to take art seriously when I was around 12. The UK had more opportunity for me to study it than if I had stayed in South Korea. I also wanted to learn English and experience another culture.”

 

LWC was certainly a change for Anne. “It felt so big compared to school in Korea,” she reveals. “I was so impressed by the greenery and fields. It’s completely different to the landscape in Korea, where buildings are mostly high-rise. I like the fact that I have to walk between my House and classes. It gives me the space to think about myself and my work. It’s very valuable spending ten minutes in that way every day.”

   

“Houseparents help to make your House feel like a home….They like hearing about us a lot. You can see how much effort they put in every single day to encourage people to mingle.”

— Anne, Lower Sixth

   

Anne is one of a number of international students from countries around the world, who have made LWC their home. Making the transition to boarding is a big step, let alone when you are doing it thousands of miles from friends and family. But Anne believes she now knows the key to settling.

 

“I’d never done this before,” she says. “It seemed really strange to me that people would sleep at school. But it’s actually much easier to settle if you’re boarding because you’re spending more time with everyone. It’s easier to make friends.”

 

LWC’s approach of allocating Houses to day pupils, as well as boarders, helps to integrate students even more according to Anne. “I know that some other boarding schools don’t give day students a House. But here they can stay late if they want to and we all mix together. If you engage yourself in school life then it will make you much happier. I try to do a lot of things and it makes my school life better and more dynamic.”

 

Whilst positive relationships may be key to feeling happy in school, there are other elements of LWC life that have made a real difference to Anne’s experience so far.

 

“Houseparents help to make your House feel like a home,” she explains. “They like hearing about us a lot. You can see how much effort they put in every single day to encourage people to mingle. No one is left out and they come up with activities that we can do together.” At this point, Anne smiles broadly when asked about her favourite activities in-House. “The common room is really cosy. I love Friday night socials – people talk to each other a lot. We like having different food nights in Park House – like snack night, cheese toastie night, smoothie night. Everyone enjoys it and you end up talking to lots of different people from 3rd to Sixth Form.”

 

Anne has her sights set on a future in art after LWC. “I’m still thinking about it, but I’d like to go to university to study art. Then maybe I would like to go into fashion.”

 

Her aim to immerse herself in a different culture and language also seems to have paid off. “For the first few months of being here, I didn’t really speak that much, but now my English has jumped and I feel much more confident about speaking it,” she admits. “My Houseparent says she’s been so impressed and my mum says that I’m much more confident whenever I go home.”

 

Anne’s life in the UK has thrown up some surprises too. “I love the weather,” she smiles. “It’s really special here. In Korea, it’s mostly sunny and you take it for granted. Here, if it’s sunny you want to get outside and take a walk.”

 

At least ten minutes well-spent.