Stonyhurst, in common with all Jesuit schools, has a parternship with a Jesuit school overseas. The College recently strengthened its partnership with its sister school, St Peter’s Kubatana, as guests from the Zimbabwean school stayed at Stonyhurst for a week.
Mr Richard Chiromba, the Headmaster of St Peter’s, and two Lower Sixth girls, Patricia Vinga and Thandiwe Chirambaguhwa, came to Stonyhurst in what was the first reciprocal visit. As well as following the College’s normal routine, the Zimbabwean visitors went to the Lake District, crossing Ullswater by steamer. They also attended the Lower Sixth retreat at Loyola Hall near Liverpool.
Jesuit schools’ partnerships are organised by the Companions’ Programme. A Workshop for the programme, hosted by Stonyhurst, was attended by sixth-form pupils from all over the UK, a party of visitors from Tanzania and Stonyhurst's Zimbabwean guests among others.
The Workshop began with a sharing of experiences of twinning programmes, followed by an evening social event. Reflection and workshops helped the attendees to develop their work; they considered what is going well, what isn’t going well, and what to do for the future. All agreed that communication is the greatest obstacle, and that nothing beats a reciprocal visit for sharing cultures and deepening friendships.