New Zealand passes through Tarbes

In the presence of Roger Vincent Calatayud, Assistant for Culture and External Relations, students from Palmerston High School in New Zealand were welcomed to Tarbes City Hall.

They did not arrive empty-handed. To thank the city council, the students performed the high school's Haka dance. A very beautiful tradition.

As part of their trip to France, the young New Zealanders began their trip in Tarbes, staying with families of Théophile Gautier High School students.

“It all started in 2009 at Desaix College with a letter correspondence between Tarbes and New Zealand students,” says Helen Francis, an English teacher at Théophile Gautier Secondary School. “We will have to wait until 2011 for the French and New Zealand youngsters to meet thanks to the first exchanges with Vic High School. Exchanges that were repeated every three years until Covid. They only resumed this year and Théophile Gautier High School took over.”

A unique experience for those New Zealanders who take the French DAF (International Diploma), each with different levels.

“For three weeks, we will discover Tarbes and other wonderful places such as the castles of the Loire and Paris before ending our trip in Arras,” says Christina Belton, French teacher at Palmerston High School. The students are very excited about this adventure. This trip exists to help them discover French culture, history and daily life. “The Tarbes families help us greatly in this.”

A new welcome from Tarbes once again proves the openness of Théophile Gautier High School and, more broadly, Tarbes to the world.