This year we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Beaconhills French exchange program with our sister school in Laval.

Fifteen students from Laval are visiting the College until 1 March, staying with Beaconhills host families. They have joined classes with local students and visited tourist attractions such as Sovereign Hill and the Great Ocean Road.

The cultural and language enrichment program began when 15 Beaconhills students and two teachers first visited Laval in western France in December 1999. The following year, eight French students reciprocated, stay with host families for three weeks.

Head of French at the Pakenham Campus, Yelena Pinchuk, said “so many strong friendships” had been forged over the past 20 years between the two schools. Many of the French students had returned later to Australia to reunite and even travel with their host families.

College students pictured on the 2004 exchange.

A students from Laval participating in a College Art class, 2019.