Sporting visitors

Staff and students at Bellerive FCJ College welcomed some very special visitors from a faraway sister school.

A group of 30 girls from Genazzano FCJ in Melbourne, Australia spent three days in Merseyside as part of their European sports tour.  They have already visited Belgium and London and are heading to Limerick in Ireland and Paris before returning home.

After meeting their hosts the group soon departed for a football coaching session with Liverpool Ladies FC at the University of Liverpool’s Wyncote Centre followed by a tour of Anfield.

An action packed day of games including basketball, badminton and tennis took place at Upton Hall followed by a free day for the visiting girls to spend time with their host families and get to know the city region.

The girls stayed with FCJ students from Bellerive and Upton Hall on the Wirral to gain an insight into local family life.  Some of the sights their hosts were keen to show off included the Albert Dock, Liverpool One, the cinema and the Beatles and the Maritime museums.

Mr McGrath, the Merseyside trip co-ordinator and a history teacher at Bellerive, said: “We were very excited to welcome our Australian visitors to Merseyside and enjoyed showing them the best of our city despite the rain!”

Sarndra Kennerley, head of netball at Genazzano said upon arriving at Bellerive: “We’ve had an amazing trip so far and even though it’s a sporting tour we’re also building friendships with other FCJ schools and students around the world. These relationships will last a lifetime; I know many girls who have met on previous trips are still in touch today.”

There are 16 Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJ) schools all over the world from Canada, the USA and Belgium to Ireland, Australia and the UK.