On Tuesday 25th June, KHS senior French students took a trip to the Modern Languages department Open Day at The University of St. Andrews. We gathered with some more Fife high schools in the Buchanan Building Lecture Theatre, where we were given an outline for the day.

Our morning sessions allowed us half hour rotations around Spanish, German and Chinese lessons. In Spanish class, lecturer Ana told us that 550 million people in the world speak Spanish, and 20 countries have Spanish as an official language. We played a game of Geoguessr to learn about the different cultures and climates Spanish speaking countries have. She also taught us a little bit about Spanish culture, and how it would be considered rude to turn up on time for a party!

In German class, we learnt about the history after 1945 and the restructuring after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Dr Lawson recommended we watch the 2003 film, “Good Bye, Lenin!” to education ourselves about the cultural changes around this time. It was difficult to hear, and hard to imagine, how the Berlin Wall tore families and communities apart.

In Chinese class, Yvonne explained the tonal nature of Mandarin by using a dentist analogy. The “aaahs” and “awwws” of the dentist visit helped us with the tones of the language! She taught us how to introduce ourselves and count from 0-10. We also played a version of “Rock Paper Scissors”, called “Bat Tiger Rooster Worm”.

After a quick muffin break, we were back into the lecture theatre for two half-hour lectures. Dr Whitehead delivered an engaging lecture on Russian literature and explained how we can use this to gain insights into social issues, economics, law and gender roles in Russian cultures. Her work includes an adaptation of the 1876 novel, “Three Courts, or Murder During the Ball” into modern reading, by updating the characters and introducing illustrations. With an Italian theme, Dr Wilson then spoke to us about his love of the Italian poet Dante, and how Dante was instrumental in establishing the literature of Italy. We all joined in reading one of Dante’s poems in Italian. (Photo of us learning about Dante.)

St Andrews is a town with a population of 22,000, of which 10,000 are students. With plenty of trendy eateries available, our students and staff enjoyed a tasty Greggs, before heading back to the lecture theatre for the afternoon session. Orla and Dr Michael encouraged us to apply to St Andrews University and told us about the 4 faculties that are available – Arts, Science, Medicine, and Divinity. They explained the structure of their degree programs and explained how easy it would be to change degrees in our first two years of study. They also gave us lots of advice on writing personal statements.

We then went on a tour around St Andrews to see some university buildings. We visited the library, which is open until 2am, with IT services, two completely silent-study floors, and a student night bus from 10pm to 2am. We saw Sallies Quad, where some Languages buildings are, and where many academic traditions are held, such as the annual fancy dress foam fight. We learnt about Patrick Hamilton, who was burnt at the stake outside St Salvator’s Chapel – be careful not to step on his initials on the pavement as this will bring you bad luck! (Photo of us looking at St Salvator’s Chapel.) We also saw some of the student accommodation that would be available to us at St Andrews University.

We returned for a final word, where the university students encouraged high school students to look into scholarships to help with funding, including Laidlaw Scholarships and the Robertson Trust Scholarship. It was a nice afternoon so we took a short walk through the town, past the golf course and along the beach to where Miss Barclay had left the minibus. We reflected upon our day whilst taking in the beautiful Fife scenery. (Photo of us looking out to sea.)

A big thank you to Mrs Morris and Mr Spink for organising this thoroughly worthwhile trip!