We have been and continue to be very busy with twinning this year. Please take a look at what has been happening here and if you wish to be involved in our busy twinning programme, take a group to one of our twin towns or have ideas for future activities please contact the Twinning Officer.
Annecy work placement students Elise Collon and Mathis Lecry joined the Mayor and his wife for afternoon tea in the Mayor’s Parlour. Elise and Mathis have spent the month of August in Cheltenham, Elise working at the Cheltenham Trust and helping with Parklives and children’s workshops and Mathis working at the many community events that Cheltenham Borough Homes organise throughout the summer. Both stayed with local families and thoroughly enjoyed being immersed into family life, English culture and improving their already excellent English.
This summer Cheltenham Twinning Association and some 70 residents of Cheltenham and beyond participated in the highly successful 2019 Big Party visit to Göttingen. Making their way by trains, planes, cars and a comfortable Marchants’ coach, participants were given a very warm welcome on arrival and at a formal welcome ceremony at the Altes Rathaus (Old Town hall), where two David Austin ‘Golden Celebration’ roses were presented by the Mayor of Cheltenham, Roger Whyborn, and later planted in the rose garden in Cheltenham Park, Göttingen.
Guests as well as hosts enjoyed a joint church service, a guided tour of Göttingen on the double-decker ‘Miss Marple’ bus, 
a bus tour on the new e-bus led by the Göttingen Integrated Transport Association (GŐVB) as well as a demonstration of the latest hybrid technology.
The opening of the Cheltenham Göttingen photo exhibition by Mayor Ulrich Holefleisch at the Torhaus Gallery showcased a selection of outstanding 
photographs organised by Mike Walker of the Cheltenham Camera Club. Highlights of the 5-day visit included trips to the Friedland Museum, the historic city and castle of Wernigerode in the Harz Mountains and Scharfenstein Castle as well as the traditional party at the Kiessee.
The benefits of the trip are manifold and encompass a renewed commitment to peace. With longstanding and active twinning links between Cheltenham and Göttingen dating back some 68 years, the significance of the enduring peaceful relations, which continue to exist between the two countries, should not be forgotten. Information about policies and best practices in e.g. environmental developments in public transport were shared. In addition, through a working meeting, Cheltenham’s status as a ‘Festival Town’ was promoted and opportunities for mutual collaboration discussed. Links with the University of Göttingen as well as educational establishments and Göttingen’s tourism office were reinforced, and youth exchanges and work experience programmes were reviewed. At a personal level, old friendships were celebrated, and new acquaintances kindled.
This would not have been possible without the hard work and commitment in Cheltenham and Göttingen of respective Mayors, Twinning Officers, host families, interpreters and friends of twinning to whom we send a big thank you.
In summer 2021 we look forward to welcoming Göttingen guests to Cheltenham, when the two twin towns will celebrate their 70th anniversary. In the meantime, if you are interested in connecting with a business, educational establishment, club, society, or if you are a young person interested in doing a work experience placement in Göttingen, Annecy or any of Cheltenham’s other twin towns, or perhaps you might be interested in hosting guests from our twin towns, do please get in touch with Annette Wight.
Carol Stephens,Vice-Chair Cheltenham Twinning Association
In July the Mayor welcomed over 50 pupils from our Chinese twin town of Weihai who were in Cheltenham for 2 weeks. There were two groups; one from the Ivy International School in Weihai 
who stayed with local families and attended Gloucestershire College’s international summer school.
The second Weihai Yubo Group were attending a summer school programme organised by the British Study Centre and stayed at the Cheltenham Ladies College. We were delighted to see so many young people from Weihai who embraced the language and cultural differences with maturity and challenged the Mayor with some tough questions on Brexit and presented him with many gifts from China.
A group of 11 young people and their 2 leaders from our twin town of Göttingen, Germany, met the Mayor for coffee and cakes in the Parlour during their stay in Cheltenham. The youngsters were in Cheltenham for 11 days, staying with local host families and enjoying an organised programme of language learning, sporting activities at Leisure at Cheltenham, and sightseeing in Stratford, London, Bath and Clearwell Caves. The 13-17 year olds told the Mayor that one of their best memories will be the food (Yorkshire pudding!) and the friendliness of their host parents.
A group of 48 young people from Annecy were welcomed to Cheltenham last Friday by former Mayor of Cheltenham, Cllr Bernard Fisher. The students are in town for 3 weeks, staying with host families and attending the International Summer School run by Gloucestershire College.
ERICA, a rock pop band from Winchcombe, were selected by the Cheltenham Twinning Association to play at the Fete de la Musique in Annecy as part of France’s national day of music on Friday 21 June. They were bid bon voyage by the Mayor of Cheltenham.
One of the first engagements of the newly elected Mayor of Cheltenham was to welcome a group of 8 students and their 2 leaders from the Heinrich-Böll Special School in Göttingen on Thursday 16 May. The students presented roses to the Mayor and Mayoress in the Parlour, sang a German pop song and asked the Mayor some very interesting questions. The Göttingen school caters for those with physical and motor development difficulties and have been visiting Cheltenham now for 8 years. The group were in Cheltenham for 4 days and had spent a day in Tewkesbury at the Alderman Knight School. They were also spending time shopping and sightseeing in Cheltenham as well as visiting Gloucester Cathedral.
The International Office in Cheltenham’s sister city of Weihai in China are offering a scholarship to someone aged 25-45 (age can be flexible) to go to Weihai for 10 months to study the Chinese language and culture at the local university and to assist with developing international relations and exchanges between the two cities. The scholarship would cover tuition, board and lodging and training fees. Anyone interested in finding out more should contact the Twinning Officer.
These posts have now been filled. Watch out for next year!
Our French twin town of Annecy has a number of interesting work placement opportunities available this summer for young people aged 18-30 from Cheltenham and local area. A summary of the positions available can be seen here. Most are for a 4 week duration. The posts are varied and in the past we have had students from Cheltenham in the Musee Chateau, the Department of International Relations and the Bureau info jeunesse. For full details of all the positions available please email the Twinning Officer.
Students must be 18+ at the time of placement to be considered and have a good standard of French. This is a wonderful opportunity for students studying French at university. These opportunities have been sent to all of Annecy’s twin towns, so early application is advisable and after the end of March the positions are not reserved exclusively for young people from the twin towns.
The successful applicants will receive:
– accommodation of a single room with ensuite shower room and shared kitchen, paid for by the town of Annecy
– 70 euros per week to buy food.
– use of a bicycle for the duration of the stay
We look forward to hearing from you.
Cheltenham International Partnerships