The New Zealand Liberation Museum – Te Arawhata had the pleasure of welcoming not one but two schools on Saturday 11 April: Lycée Guy Mollet in Arras, which was hosting Pukekohe High School, located south of Auckland, as part of a student exchange programme.
After a visit by the French students to New Zealand in February, it was now the turn of the New Zealand students to come to France. Hosted by their exchange partners, they shared in their daily lives and attended classes together before setting off to explore the Hauts-de-France region and Paris, with an essential stop in Le Quesnoy.
Having previously visited Le Quesnoy, Pukekohe High School had earlier taken part in a tour of the ramparts thanks to the Le Quesnoy–New Zealand Association. This time, the presence of the museum enriched their experience: we were delighted to introduce them to the story of the liberation of Le Quesnoy through a guided tour in either French or English, while also discussing the strong ties that unite France and New Zealand. This visit was the perfect opportunity to illustrate our core value of friendship, fully embodied in this exchange programme and the connections formed between the students.
The day continued with a visit to the New Zealand memorial in the afternoon, before handing the group over to Jean-Philippe Froment for a more in-depth exploration of the ramparts.
Finally, during this visit, we also had the pleasure of meeting Pascale McMillan, a French teacher at Pukekohe High School. This exchange allowed us to discuss the needs of schools in terms of educational resources, as well as our future projects in this area. Visits from New Zealand school groups are always special moments for us to engage with teachers, better understand their expectations and needs, and, we hope, co-develop suitable teaching tools so that Te Arawhata may one day find its place in classrooms across New Zealand.