Western Reserve Academy Exchange

When we arrived at the Western Reserve Academy in Ohio, we had a pizza party and met all our exchange pupils who were really welcoming, and gave us a tour the school grounds, which consisted of over 50 acres of buildings and sports pitches. We spent the next week attending lessons with our exchange pupils and learning what American boarding school life is like, whilst also trying to navigate our way around the campus. There were really interesting classes that the pupils took such as cancer immunology, and we were able to watch boys’ lacrosse and wrestling. We visited the Rock and Roll Museum of Fame in Cleveland, and then went to see the Red Indians play at a baseball stadium. In the middle of the second week, we travelled to Washington D.C and spent the last couple of days visiting museums to learn about American history, such as the American Indian Museum, which was fascinating. We also went to see the Lincoln and Martin Luther King monuments, the Vietnam and North Korea memorials and the White House. One of my favourite parts was the art museums we visited, such as the National Gallery, as some of the pieces they had were stunning.

Michaela (Lower Sixth)

During the Easter holidays ten of the lower sixth pupils travelled to America for the Western Reserve Academy exchange. The trip consisted of eight days at the boarding school in Ohio and a further four days in Washington DC.  Whilst we were in Ohio we firstly visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as the Cleveland Museum of Art. This was a great way for the ten of us to get to know each other better and start off our journey! We attended classes with our American exchanges and in order to get the full American high school experience, we joined in with sports, dance and choir after classes. On the Friday and Saturday evenings, WRA hosted music nights where all of us Brits sang a very out of tune version of ‘Party in the USA’ (just in case the American pupils hadn’t already realized our presence…) Another day we drove to Cleveland to watch a baseball game- Cleveland Indians vs Toronto Blue Jays. This was a once in a lifetime experience for the ten of us and I believe this day out was definitely a highlight of the trip! In Washington we had a very busy schedule which meant we managed to see all of the main tourist attractions including the Capitol Building, Supreme Court Building, Arlington Cemetery (where we watched the changing of the guard), White House, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and many more. One evening we went to Georgetown for dinner and shopping- another standout section of the trip for me. In the near future we are all very excited to welcome our American exchanges to England where they will experience Caterham and get familiar with London!

Leah (Lower Sixth)