In May 2009, the delightful Loan came to visit Ashbourne for a week. Loan is an English Language tutor at the prestigious HCMC (Vietnam) High School, Le Hong Phong. The purpose of her visit was to enable her to gain a better insight into how Ashbourne educates our GCSE and A level students to improve their English language. The entire Ashbourne management and administration team, and some members of staff and students took it in turns to take Loan around London. She also managed to take a day trip to Cambridge, where she met with two former Ashbourne Vietnamese students, Nguyen Duc Thong and Tran Minh Hoang. Two members of our academic management team, Breanne Grantham and James Wykes, will travel to Le Hong Phong later this summer to teacher English to their High School Students. Almost twenty former Le Hong Phong students have continued their education at Ashbourne in the past 5 years.

Comments from Loan
“It was my great honour to be invited to Ashbourne College in May 2009. I have learnt a lot of useful things from this trip. Thanks to the exchange program between Ashbourne College and Le Hong Phong High School For the Gifted, I have had a great opportunity to know more about Ashbourne College, one of the most prestigious independent schools in the UK. The school is equipped with modern facilities, and the working environment is friendly. The teachers and staff are not only professional but also enthusiastic. I was very touched by their warm welcome and hospitality, which makes this trip unforgettable. Furthermore, I have discovered many interesting things about British culture and people, which helps my teaching career a lot. I have also had a good chance to observe some English classes and to exchange teaching experiences with Ashbourne tutors.

Many thanks for offering me a valuable opportunity to visit UK in general and Ashbourne College in particular. I hope in the future the relationship between two schools will be strengthened. I also expect that more and more Vietnamese students, especially students from Le Hong Phong High School, will study at Ashbourne College.”

Comments from Ex-Asher Ho Phuong Thao
“It was the first time, since I had come to the UK that I had met a teacher from Vietnam. She was from my old school in HCMC, “Le Hong Phong”. The experience was similar to a typical London sight seeing tour, except the fact that this particular visitor was extremely enthusiastic to see everything, in one day! I picked her up at her hostel and I showed her how to travel to Ashbourne. We took a stroll in Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, and had lunch at M&S. After that, I showed her how to use the tube and bus. We visited Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and Houses of Parliament, taking lots and lots of pictures! Unfortunately (or fortunately), the camera battery ran out, so we missed the chance of taking more pictures. We then took the bus to LSE (I had to show her my university!), passing through Trafalgar Square, and then heading to Covent Garden. Sadly, it was a Sunday and there was not much to see. We walked to Leicester Square, where we had dinner at the infamous Chinese restaurant named “Wong Kei”. I then took her back to the hostel and this time I made her find the way to the underground station by herself. Loan reminded me about the first time I came here. She was wide eyed and very excited. She was a lovely woman, very Vietnamese in many ways, yet with an “I’m-open-to-any-new-experience” attitude, and I liked it! The day reminded me how much I love London. A lovely experience!”