Turkish Exchange Program

Pick a country to have a sister school in. USA? China? England? Italy? Indonesia? Who would choose Turkiye? We did. Why? As a nod to the Galliopli campaign in 1915, we have worked since 2013 to strengthen ties with our new Turkish friends.

To this point we have hosted two groups of students from a city called Canakkale, which sits on the east shore of the Dardenelles. Across the strait is the beautiful Gallipoli Peninsula. We have also had three, month long expeditions to Turkiye.

When you grow up in our area, Melbourne seems exotic. Imagine the wonder of our students in Istanbul, a city of 16.5 million people. Greeted with unfamiliar sounds, sights and smells and quickly recognising that we are all small pieces of a complex world puzzle.

We are so proud of our kids for challenging themselves!

Exchange Program History

2015 – Centenary of ANZAC landings – ELP12 to Turkey

In April 2015, to commemorate the landing of the ANZACs 100 years before, eight students and two staff set off on a trek to Turkiye, to meet friends from our then sister school Toki Anadolu High School. Their students had visited us the previous year and we felt some comfort in seeing some familiar faces when we arrived in Canakkale, after touring the Turkish countryside for over a week in the lead up. We shared so many fun times with our hosts and can not thank them enough for their hospitality. To say we were made to feel welcome is not enough. We will never forget the feeling of warmth and happiness that our hosts offered, from the time we stepped foot off the bus through to our teary goodbyes. An absolute highlight was our dawn service held on a pier at Kepez on the Dardanelle’s, with the Gallipoli Peninsula serving as a backdrop.