Ten students and two teachers from Macau were the guests of the Rotary Club of Sandbach at a recent meeting. The young people were spending two weeks in England and the visit was the idea of Rtn Eric Cowcill, currently our District Governor, and a member of the Sandbach club. In his role as District Youth Officer Eric has been involved with Rotary Youth projects, including international ones, for some years but last year was approached by the Head of St Paul’s School, Macau, with a view to arranging a two-week experience for students from the school. Based on the success of last year’s visit a second one was requested.

After three days’ sightseeing in London the group came up to Cheshire where they were accommodated at Petty Pool Outdoor Centre at Sandiway, near Northwich. As well as experiencing a range of interesting and exciting outdoor activities the students were taken on excursions to Manchester, Chester and North Wales – with plenty of opportunities for shopping!

Macau, a Special Administrative Region of China, has a population of 600,000 living in an area the size of Sandbach. A visit to Tatton Park, with the opportunity “to get close to nature”, as they said, was a fascinating experience.

Whilst based at Petty Pool, the students were home-hosted over the middle weekend by members of the Rotary Club of Sandbach who provided differing programmes for their guests. The weekend ended with a barbecue, hosted by President Richard Hovey.

Prior to the weekly Wednesday meeting of the Rotary club at the Market Tavern the students were introduced to a game of bowls at The Limes. One of the students, Chris, gave a report on their visit after lunching with the members of the club. The afternoon ended with a guided historical tour of the town and a visit to a well-known grocery shop to sample some Cheshire cheese.

The students spoke of an “unforgettable” experience and their teachers said that they hoped that more students from the school would be able to visit next year.