Orientation Programme

The 2 day orientation programme takes place at the home of cricket - Lords. Not particularly exciting for a soccer fan but still an interesting venue.

On day 1 the evangelistic Mr Mohan Mohan was preaching motivation, enthusiasm and positive attitude. The speech was certainly effective but when we were all told to stand up and kiss our neighbour I remember thinking that Mohan’s approach was somewhat unconventional.

The strange quickly changed to the surreal as groups of students from around the world demonstrated quintessential national or regional characteristics in hurriedly assembled skits on the stage. The German students stole the show, demonstrating their renowned sense of humour, with a rapidly improvised dating game.

The first day was wrapped up in style by a member of the faculty called Costas Markides who proceeded to make me doubt everything I know by using multiple psychological tricks and riddles to question my assumptions. This speech culminated in a motivational message expressed in a clip from the movie ‘The Dead Poets’ Society‘.

On day 2 the highlight was the speech by David Lightbody, an alumni of the school. David manages theatrical productions and so it should have come as no surprise to find that his speech was part poem, part musical, part fairytale and part song. This was surely the most imaginative speech of the programme. If only he had included a dance whilst delivering the speech, I would have been really impressed.

So that was orientation. Eclectic, bizarre, frenetic, humorous, informative and thought provoking. We even found some time for some socialising and drinking. Certainly, an experience that should be lived rather than read about and if this is a real flavour of the school the next 2 years are going to be very interesting.