Transplanted Classes is a project funded by the Portuguese government, which aims to bring Portuguese speaking students closer to their cultural background. Under this programme, nine of our year 8 and 9 students were wonderfully welcomed by the Bernado Passos School, in São Brás de Alportel (South of Portugal).

LBTS students had the opportunity to have lessons in a Portuguese school and understand the differences not only between countries, but also between educational systems. The most obvious one is the lack of uniform.

The relationship with the teachers is also different, according to one LBTS student who said that teachers in Portugal were less strict in terms of the class presentation and behaviour. However, in Bernardo Passos School students have an important reason to keep focused, which is to avoid the risk of having to repeat the same year if their results are unsatisfactory.

In Algarve, they also visited the magnificent natural park of Ria Formosa where hundreds of different birds stop by during the spring and autumn migratory periods. They had a taste of the old Portugal at the museum of costume, and a glance at the modern Portugal, when they watched the filming of Portugal’s Got Talent TV show, at Faro municipal theatre.