By Danielle Galvin
SENIOR researchers from Chile and Columbia visited Kooweerup Secondary College recently to see what school life is like in semi-rural townships.
The research fellows are in Melbourne as part of the Australian Leadership Awa-rds Fellowships in conjunction with AusAID and Monash University.
Dr Carlos Rios said he was impressed with the college.
“I’ve noticed that the school invests in people.”
The researchers will use what they learn over their three-week trip for a research project at their universities in South America.
While the weather left something to be desired, the Columbian delegates said experiencing different seasons in Melbourne was a bit of a change.
“There are no seasons in Columbia, like there are here,” one of the Columbian researchers noted.
Principal Kym Bridgford took the eight fellows on a tour of the college.
“It’s also interesting that we have a lot more young people heading to South America these days, a lot more than we used to.”
Francisca Diaz said she thought that the students had a good balance between academia and their recreational activities.
“In Columbia, we have a lot of separation between school life and real life,” Ms Diaz said.
The researchers have also visited Beaconhills College in Pakenham.
