Five students from Camborne Science and Internationally Academy recently travelled over 6,000 miles to Kyoto in Japan to take part in the Rits Super Global Forum – a renowned event attended by ten other schools from around the world.

“This event unites young people from all corners of the globe to discuss challenging global issues on the theme of education” said Tim Williams, humanities teacher at CSIA. “Not only did our students take part in this incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience, they were immersed in Japanese culture by living with a home-stay family for the majority of the visit.”

Hosted by Ritsumeiken High School, Ellie Watkinson, India Kay, Caitlin Oats, Erin Nicholls and Rhiannon Davies, each attended discussion groups dealing with topics such as the impact of natural disasters on children’s education, child labour and gender inequality.

“It was an amazing learning experience for our students to debate these important issues and to gain different perspectives on the topics,” added Mr Williams. “The forum culminated in a panel discussion with Erin, who was chosen as one of five to speak on the panel – this was a fantastic honour and reflected the way that she had engaged with the discussions and impressed the forum organisers.”

Kathryn Finn, head of geography added: “The quality of discussion and debate was very high as students dealt with complex but crucially important issues. Our students were fantastic ambassadors for CSIA and showed themselves to be incredibly articulate and very well informed throughout.”

Rhiannon Davies, of year 12, said: “It was such a fantastic trip. Our homestay families made us feel so welcome and gave us an incredible insight into an amazing culture.”

Further highlights included cultural performances by each school and exploring Kyoto and the surrounding area. A visit to Osaka Castle, shopping in the markets and a train ride to visit the world’s largest Buddha statue gave students a taste of an incredible country.

From navigating the train system, to ordering and tasting sashimi, the students embraced every opportunity and new experience.