Our last day at Edge Grove Very sad !!!

We cannot believe that it is our last day at Edge Grove School. It truly has been an honour for us all to have been here and as we have said we have been so spoilt in many ways. The school has been fantatstic. The girls have enjoyed the lessons,making new friends,boarding school food!!, sport in the afternoon and mixed activities.From rugby to football,badmington and table tennis .Plus the way boarding schools operate. Their host families have taken our girls everywhere. Whatever the girls  requested ,they were taken to. !!
Last night, a lovely fairwell dinner was organised for us ,the hosting parents and the boarders. Fantastic spread.Plus we were all given a soft Edge Grove Teddy Bear.
We will be leaving Edge Grove this afternoon at about 15:00 and then on our flight to leave at 19:30
Although we are sad to leave this wonderful school and fantastic staff ,we are looking forward to coming home and being with our families again. A wonderful wonderful experience for us all.






 Now comes the big problem PACKING UP and Fitting everything into the same suitcases we brought.


























  

All done !!!

 

I bid you all farewell from Edge Grove and hope we have managed to fill you in aon most of our experiences and fun .

Here we are back again- Sorry been missing for a few days!!!

Sorry we had some technical problems,but we are back again.We have done so much and are having so much fun. Learning about so many different and exciting things.On Tuesday we set off for a Harry Potter experience. That, it certainly was. Even if you are not a Harry Potter fan, it is a defnite visit if ever you are in the UK. The girls were fascinated by all the props,costumes, moulds of faces ,millions of different wands ,the animals that  were trained and used in the film .The list is endless and the information astounding. An amazing and very interesting experience.

 And guess what was right next door to the Warner Bros Studio--  STARBUCKS. So latte's and iced coffees were ordered.
On Wednesday believe  it or not , was a full school day. Three of our  girls were selected to play for Edge Grove netball team and travelled to Belmont school to play a  match in the afternoon. I umpired the game. The team played so well, but just lost. It was pouring down at one moment,but the game continued. I am still amazed that as soon as the match was over,all the players went off to the dining hall and were given a plate of pasta and a sauce,muffin and juice. The girls  happily ate it all.
When we returned to Edge Grove our girls raced back to the activities session where they are now into badmington and table tennis. The challenges happening amongst all the children was fantatstic. Our girls even went to a rugby session and literally had a ball.
Today, Thursday we left Edge Grove at 09:00 and set off for Oxford where we were treated to a fabulous tour of the Cathedral .It is absolutely beautiful.Sadly we were too late to see the Hall as students were about to have their midday meal. Fortunately we just made the visit to the Cathedral before it was closed to the public. The buildings are something to behold. Built in 1863and still standing . We then went Punting . What a lovely relaxing time we had been punted down the little stream,with ducks nad swans all around us. Really beautiful.

 We were fortunate to have some time to wander around the streets and even go to an Indoor market. Butchers,cake makers,bakery- pastries  and all sorts of little shops. Fascinating.
Then to Weatherspoon for a super evening meal. It was a lovely family pub. We sat upstairs and had a super meal. We could order whatever we fancied. Value for money it certainly was. From Roast of the day to Salmon fillet,curries to chicken salads all was eaten.So we set off back to Edge Grove and  got back at 20:00. A very full day ,very worthwhile and  happy outing. The girls will have school tomorrow and then it is an exeat weekend.So no-one stays on in the boarding house.Our girls will spend their last weekend with their host families.Where I know,they will be thoroughly spoilt.
So now it is count down time.

All the girls seemed to have had a wonderful weekend with their hosts.

HI All
We are back again ,that is the girls,having been out with their host families for the weekend after the Interhouse netball matches.. They all seemed to have been taken here ,there and everywhere.Which is wonderful. They are already looking forward to the next weekend when they will be back with their host families who have organised more exciting outings for them. Heather and I went to this amazing school, Haileybury.Enormous grounds ,500 acres.  A staff of 100 who all stay on the property.Plus a resident doctor.24/7.We even met a member of staff who came from Fort Beaufort and owns a house at Kidds Beach. Heather and I nearly did our nuts as not many people know where Kidds Beach is!! My parents lived at Kidds Beach and Heather has very dear friends there.
The girls had a full day of school. I think they will be exhausted. As from 14:30- 18:00 they went from one sporting activity to the next.
 We are off  on a Harry Potter experience tomorrow,which I believe is fantastic.Edge Grove have set up a new website.
www.edgegrove.com  So have a look. it is very good.

Saturday 22 September Girls back for Interhouse Netball!!

 

The girls ,as we said, had gone out with their hosts last night  and were brought back this afternoon for Interhouse Netball . The teams are made up of  girls from Grade 4 - 7. There are 5 houses.They play a Round Robin  and at the same time the boys play Interhouse football. After the matches everyone ( players and parents) go to the front of the school for a prize giving and tea. Once that was over , the girls went home with their host families and  are now ,we hope going to be treated to some  famous British touristy spots.Our girls really played some super netball.They all played - all six and were a huge credit to their new houses!Gills,Churchhill, Hedgerows,Sarnsfiield,Stratton.

 

 

 

Pictures I could not download yesterday 21 September

So much to see so little time to buy £££ and see.

We were fortunate enough to get a lift to the station with the school bus. ( saved us a couple of pounds!!) Off we set for Oxford street hoping to hit one end of Oxford to the other,plus Regent street etc.We got off the tube at Oxford Circus and as we got to Oxford Street GAP was seen !! So a lot of milling around  only to realise it was really expensive.So PRIMARK here we come . All the way down we walked popping into little shops. Well an hour and a half later we were now setting off back Oxford street to try and get to Harrods and Hamleys. Needless to say we didn't get there as we spent so much time in M&S, Cellphone cover shops etc etc and we  had to be back at school as the host families were coming to collect the girls.
We did get back in time. The girls have all gone off to their families. They will be back for Interhouse Netball tomorrow Saturday that is from 2-4 then they will only come back to the boarding house  on Monday morning for school.
 If you are wondering whether they are doing any work. Yes they have been to lessons. I manageed to catch them at ART and a Science lesson.
 For some reason I can't download any photos . I will try later .Sorry. I put one in of  two of our girls during tea  break of the school day. Such a lovley setting.

20 September our day in London sightseeing

 

Today was the day the  South Africans used British Transport---!!! to its utmost! From the Circle line North to the Piccadilly Line  and then back again to Waterloo station and then Overhead trains to Radlett where we picked up two taxis back to school !! How well we managed !! So well that we are off to London tomorrow again to hit the shops.£££!! Marvelous visit to the Tower Bridge and then a water taxi down the Thames to catch a Duck Tour around London Central. Fabulous all round.!One minute we were on land and the next second - in the same vehicle  we were travelling  on water travelling further down the Thames. Amazing . What a lovely outing.

at our Italian restaurant ASK last night.

19 September back on track

Wow is all we can say. WE were blown away by the amazing show we went to.
Our start of the trip was on a train  to Greenpark station. This was an experience on its own. Then we had to catch a tube to Victoria station. What fun,at peak time .Heather and I were like mother hens ,much to the girls embarassment. Anyway we had time to waste and so off to Buckingham palace we sped,using every spare moment.There was not much action ,but nevertheless had our photo taken there. We had booked at an Italian restaurant for supper before the show.We all had a lovely meal ,pizzas etc plus desserts and off to "Wicked" we went. Our seats were right at the top of the Theatre .We sat for 2 and a half hours engrossed and fascinated by this amazing show, The connection to The Wizard of Oz was so cleverly done. We only got back to Edge Grove at 23:40 .The gilrs were wide awake ,but I am sure as soon as they put their heads down they were fast asleep.
 Today Wednesday ,Kate and Alexa are playing hockey matches . So we look forward to that. We will be back again on the blog either tomorrow or the next day. Mim is kindly taking us to Londaon tomorrow for the whole day. We are punting down the Thames  with many more surprises.The IT guy is putting our photos on a slide show  ,so I will leave it in his capable hands!!!

What an amazing first day of school

Heather and Moira and the girls were all ready in school formal dress ready for the day. Breakfast at 07:45 and then class registration. Caroline, Annabel and Alexa are in one group and Jade, Nina and Kate in the other. We all got a wonderful welcome at the assembly and were presented with a bag of little goodies as memoirs of the school. The girls had their taste of formal teaching in the UK and then had netball, hockey and soccer all one after the other. They were petrified of the boys in soccer, but gave their girly screams and managed to get the ball or kick it and survived.  It is really a busy day and their is always something on the go. Supper and then prep and then bed. Miss Dollie the house mom is divine. Full of hugs and smiles. The beautiful setting just embraces a happy fun busy life. A few pictures of our girls at an Art class and some off to netball. We will follow the other group tomorrow.

More photos to follow in the morning.  Time for bed now.

2nd day in lovely UK and all going well

Definitely everyone slept well after a busy day shopping and sightseeing yesterday.Breakfast and hand writing of letters home!! to family or friends. Girls horrified ,but got down to the task and all managed well.! The next boarding shock was to collect their school shoes to polish!! whew! much to their delight - no brown polish at edge Grove (only black) so the girls were let off the hook.Salady lunch and then all the boarders (as our girls are now)were taken to At Aldenham Country park. They had a super afternoon ,tree climbing and feeding all the farm animals.pigs/cows/ducks/etc etc. Of course our girls all went mad when they saw a sow with 10 little piglets. The tree climbing was quite a challenge ,but our girls did us proud. Annabel and Caroline were stars. After a lovely ice-cream treat we came back to the school,where the girls could go to the IT room or just play around waiting for a special Roast supper at 6pm. Will be in touch again.

Pictures will be downloaded later this evening.we have to rush off to supper.

  

       

  

  

Edge Grove will never be the same again !!!

The South Affricans have arrived in full force!  After a somewhat turbulent start to the flight, we had a good trip and arrived at terminal 5 bright and early at 6:45 am. All baggage was there ,much to Alexa's great relief! Mim, Rachel and Yasmin were there to meet us. We had a georgous drive through the English countryside and arrived at the most beautiful Edge Grove school.Very warm welcome from all staff to all of us. After a full English breakfast,we hit the shops in St.Allbans! Fabulous malls and sidewalk stalls.! Girls loved every minute as did the two teachers!.At present the girls are about to watch a movie and then 8 very tired South Africans will drift off to the land of nod.!!!

 

2012 Exchange!

The countdown has begun and the girls and teachers leaving for the UK next week are starting to get excited.....