Rangiora pupil to study in France

Press, 24 July 1987, Page 3

Rangiora pupil to study in France

A Rangiora High School pupil is having to master basic French in a hurry. The need has arisen from an invitation for a boy from the school to attend the Lycee Agricole, in Bonnefont, France, which is noted for its agricultural education and its rugby.

The invitation came from a European Community representative, Mr Louis Eyraud, who had met a New Zealand member of Parliament, Mrs Margaret Austin, while she was overseas on business. The invitation was directed to the Rangiora High School, which has long traditions of providing agricultural education in association with a school farm and of playing rugby. One of the suggested qualifications for the "scholarship” was that the person chosen should be able to play rugby and to help with coaching. The captain of the school’s First XV, Gavin Summerfield, has been offered the chance. He hopes to begin the new school year in France on September 1. Although Gavin Summerfield is well versed in rugby, and he did agricultural studies in his first two years at school, his studies have not included French.

He has begun attending some third form French classes, studying taped correspondence courses in French, and family life has become “diabolical” with others trying to help his mastery of the language.

He admitted to being "scared stiff” of being thrown into the cauldron of French education and rugby, with the limited language knowledge that he will master in the

interval. A robust 80kg, I.Bm flanker, Gavin Summerfield plays rugby for his Ashley under 19 club side as well as for the high school. He played for the Canterbury Country under 16 team for two years, and was captain in his second year. He hopes to talk to Mr Alex Wyllie, one of the New Zealand selectors, to pick up some added coaching advice to take with him. Gavin Summerfield had intended continuing his studies, with the hope of qualifying for pilot training in the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The opportunity of going to France will satisfy another of his wishes, that of spending some time travelling overseas. He hopes to continue with his planned university studies after his return from France. He also has a problem of providing enough finance to cover his air fares, about $2OOO, and to help sustain him for his year in France. His parents, Mr Ron and Mrs Lorraine Summerfield, of Sefton, are working to ensure that he will be able to take up the invitation. Rangiora High School’s principal, Mr Colin Macintosh, said the school was considering possible ways to help. Negotiations had been going on for about 12 months between the two schools, but doing so at such a great distance presented some difficulties.

The position was even more complicated at present because this was the time of the long school vacation in France. Both schools saw the exchange as important from many points of view, Mr Macintosh said.