With these internships abroad, we aim to increase pupils' motivation and combat school fatigue. Through these internships, pupils gain Real-life work experience to smooth the transition to the labour market, practice their skills in relationships with colleagues and customers: responsibility, problem-solving thinking and punctuality. An internship abroad enhances this effect by requiring them to link this with a foreign culture, a foreign language and a foreign environment. Moreover, their language skills in English, as well as in other foreign languages, are stimulated and strengthened. By staying in another country, they learn to function independently and self-reliantly. Pupils are confronted with a different way of life and outlook on life through their mentors, peers and locals with whom they come into contact and learn to cope with the positive and negative experiences associated with cross-cultural encounters.
We are convinced that this experience abroad will add value to our pupils and our teachers. There is a need for a challenge for teachers and pupils. Moreover, our multicultural school wants to turn our pupils into global citizens. There is a need to dare to speak a foreign language in foreign contacts. We pay attention to all teenagers, including those in need of extra care and/or guidance such as equal educational opportunities, foreign-language newcomers and pupils with specific educational needs. With these foreign internships, we aim to teach pupils to work independently and self-reliantly both in the workplace and during non-professional activities. Our pupils grow up in a diverse society, they themselves represent different cultures, yet it is quite a challenge to find their place and play their role in such society. Thanks to these internships abroad, supervising teachers also work on their further professionalisation by observing how interns interact with their trainees abroad.