Our last full day in Finland brought us to Lahderanta School in the city of Espoo. The head teachers described it to us as a small school in comparison to other schools in Espoo, they are 269 pupils there with 20 teachers. After a brief discussion with the head teacher we were collected by members of the school council who acted as our tour guides. They were very happy in school and  were very enthusiastic to show us every area of the school they could possibly think of, there was a large gymnasium that was well equipped with crash mats, basket balls, climbing wall and lots more. The pupils in the school were sports mad and nearly everyone I spoke to played sport outside of school, whether it was football, ice hockey, basketball, gymnastics or even figure skating. Then we moved on to the woodwork room. The explained how they were able to make the wooden box and safety rules that they had when using the equipment. They were even allowed to use a flame torch unaided!

We walked around the school  and the pupils (like in most of the Finnish schools we’ve been to) were allowed to move freely around the classroom and the corridors outside the classroom. This was explained to use using the picture of the forest in the lake above. The people inside the tent need guidance and must stay close. The people in the forest can work independently but may still need help so are able to come back to the safety of the tent. The people in the lake can work independently and have the freedom to work where they feel comfortable. Our guides took us into their maths lesson where they were provided with a map of the school that had red dots on. These dots were an area of the school  where a QR code was hidden, they had to find the QR code and scan it from here they were given a maths question that they had to answer. It was a very cool lesson and the pupils were fully interactive.

Whilst we were at the school they were celebrating Ahtisaari day. This was a day of peace and conflict resolution. They discussed ideas linked to the problem solving wheel and decided the best ways to resolve conflict. From here we went into an English lesson, we were given numbers and asked to sit down. The pupils had been learning about Wales in preparation for our visit and had many questions to ask us. We were asked questions about our home life and why we were visiting Finland but I think the most difficult question I was asked was why are there more sheep than people? There pupils were very interested in our responses I was even taught a little bit of Finnish! I have been really impressed with the language skills of the pupils here, most pupils speak three languages and one girl even spoke seven.

We then visited the preschool (aged 6) who had a very special surprise for us, they had prepared a song to perform, it was really nice and I will play it to you when I get back. After we were shown around the preschool it was back to the main building for lunch and then a kahoot quiz about what we had learnt from the day. It was a lovely school and it finished the trip on a high! Now I am back in the apartment doing a bit of work and packing the last bits of my suitcase! It has been an incredible experience and I have met some  amazing people. As I write this I am filled with excitement, I can’t wait to get home tomorrow to Mrs Allen, Thomas and Chloe and I really look forward to seeing all of you on Monday!

Mr Allen signing out for the final time!