Seeing double? Middle school students to cross the pond in twinning trip
The coins Claire Smith presented with Wareham, MA's town seal and Wareham, U.K.’s town seal. File photo
The coins Claire Smith presented with Wareham, MA's town seal and Wareham, U.K.’s town seal. File photo
A beautiful seaside town with a tight knit community that's home to nature preserves, forests and historic battles with the name of Wareham… England.
The twin city to the gateway to Cape Cod has partnered with the Wareham Twinning Committee once more, this time with a school-aged crowd. The group brought forth a trip planned to take place in April, 2028 to the Wareham School Committee Thursday, Feb. 5.
Current fifth grade students will take the trip as seventh graders, giving them two years to raise the $4,459 to attend. The school is partnering with EF Tours, a travel company that specializes in student tours in foreign countries.
Director of Beyond School Time, Jane Fondulis, said she was inspired after meeting the mayor for Wareham, England in 2024. With a focus on global education in class, Fondulis got inspired.
Fondulis contacted Claire Smith, member of the Wareham Twinning Committee and close friend with many UK Warehamites. From there the two agreed traveling through a company would give the students the best experience.
Students will be gone for seven days witnessing all that the brits have to offer. From London to Stonehenge, the middle schoolers will round out the trip by visiting Bournemouth, a neighboring town to Wareham in the United Kingdom.
Fondulis emphasized the importance of creating cultural connections and what a unique opportunity the trip brings to the kids.
"I think the students are going to be blown away," Fondulis said.
With a big price point, Fondulis wanted the students to have time to raise funds.
"We have two years to fundraise," she said. "We have a source too of other funding, so I think that we're going to be in very good shape to match the fundraising."
A timeline of payments and deadlines is yet to come, with excitement ringing on all fronts of the trip. Smith said the town across the pond is friendly and that the students will enjoy their time visiting.
"It's an amazing little town," Smith said. "It reminds you so much of home. It's very comfortable feeling— they're very welcoming."
The Wareham Twinning Committee will be hosting the UK Warehamites here in the gateway town in Fall 2026.
