Hey Everyone! On 1 August 2009, I was selected to go for a Young Reporters Training Camp (YRTC) which was situated @ NacLi. It was oraginised by Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA).

Hi everyone from Queenstown Secondary School! I hope you remember me, I am Tessa Ramburn from your twinned school in Mauritius. Two weeks back, I had come to your school as part of the twinning programme, and I spent most of the day following my fellow camper Inshirah Majid, all around your school.



If I have been able to come at Queenstown, it is all due to the YRTC( Young Reporters Training Camp). I have had the chance be part of this formidable camp organised by the MICA and regrouping young people from all around the world, for 15 days. During my stay in Singapore, I have been able to learn a lot about your country, your culture and your people. I have definitely fell in love with this country, I am already planning to come back! The camp has enabled me not only to acquire priceless journalism skills, but most important of all, to find friends from all around the globe and to learn about their way of life. I have also learnt much about your educational system, which will help me bring new ideas to my own school.


I study at College Sainte Marie and my school is twinned with yours as part of the Friends@YOG program. My school is a private one, which is not very common in Mauritius (most are free in my country). We start secondary school at the age of 11, after primary school. We then have 5years before the GCE 'O' level exams in November. I am myself in fifth year,that is I will take the 'O' level exams at the end of this year. After the fifth year, students either continue their studies in the same school(for two more years before going to university), or start vocational training. My school is very small(200 students!) because it has just been opened in 2005, and so we consider ourselves “on the way” to become a well-established one. We have a few clubs such as the drama club, the environment club, the editing club, the service club, and the student council which has been created this year itself. The service club takes care of a poor village near the school, and organises various activities to help them since the school motto is “learn to serve”. Our school is mainly known by the other ones in Mauritius for our performance in sport,especially athletics and volleyball. Despite our small size we have been able to win some competitions. Students also have the possibility to swim, play football, table tennis and train for cross-country. Classes are mostly conducted as yours but we only have a maximum of 25 students per class. Something that is really unique to my school is that you can see some classes with only 4 students or even one!! This is so because my school wants to enable the students to chose the subjects they really want to do. For example, I am the only student in Biology class in my year, because nobody else had chosen that subject!


As for my country Mauritius, is situated near the south eastern cost of Africa, near the island Madagascar( you have probably heard about the film “Madagascar”...). It is very small, that is about 2000 square kilometers. Our official language is English but people mainly speak French and Creole ( a dialect of French). We have a multi-cultural population, as in Singapore. People from African, European and Asian origin leave in peace here. In fact we have many things in common with your country, except the fact that it is now that Mauritius' economy is really beginning to take off.


I would really like to thank you all for the great time I spent at your school on Thursday 6th August. I had been wondering how it would be and if I might feel lost. You all gave me such a warm welcome that I did not even want to leave at the end of the day!


I have learnt a lot about Singapore and your education system on that day. I am already planning to start new things in my own school with the student council, based on what I have learnt with you! Thank you again to everybody and especially to class 3A, and feel free to add me on facebook (Tracey Ramburn), I'd be glad to keep in touch.

Tessa Ramburn
YRTC
Mauritius