Belfast Boys Model School

Two of our students recently abandoned all the luxuries and home comforts of Belfast, Northern Ireland to travel to a small rural South African township also called Belfast, in a bid to investigate the difference in lifestyle of the two towns separated not only by 6,000 miles, but by a number of cultural distinctions.

In the second of a two part BBC series called ‘No Place Like Home’, the Sweetlove family from Ballysillan travelled to Belfast, South Africa to swap homes, jobs and schools with a counterpart family in the Mpumalanga range, to see what life has to offer.

Welcomed to South Africa by the Mayor of Belfast and a number of other dignitaries and councillors, the Sweetlove family, consisting of George (Year 12) and Callum (Year 9) and their parents George Senior and Julie, spent six days shadowing a South African family, undertaking their daily chores and activities with the aim of learning new skills and understanding their host family’s hopes and dreams.

Callum and George (Jr) attended local schools, one a private school which depended on fees paid by the pupils’ parents and the other a ‘farm’ school which accepted children from poorer backgrounds. They interacted with the students and teachers, learning new skills and teaching techniques, while also gaining an insight into the distinct differences of the South African way of life in comparison to their Northern Irish upbringing.

In a bid to understand working life in South Africa, George (Sr) and Julie took jobs in the local coal mine, the area’s largest employer and found that although the work was very physically demanding, the local community were incredibly grateful to have these jobs as they were the best paid in the area.

Mr. Keith from the School, said, “Callum and George were delighted to be chosen to travel to Belfast, South Africa and on their return they shared many of their experiences with their fellow pupils. It was very exciting to hear their accounts of going to two very different schools and our pupils were thrilled to hear about the South African way of life, how the children were taught and of course the sports they played.”

On their return home, the Sweetloves welcomed their host family from South Africa to a NI covered in a blanket of snow, a distinct difference from the sunny blue skies and dry red dirt of South Africa, before taking them on tours of Belfast’s famous sights, including the Falls and Shankill Roads.