PRESS NEWS : THE ART OF LIFE
Gap-year students try Italy, not Vietnam, says Charlotte Metcalf.
The Spectator, 2nd February 2008
Writing in The Spectator of 2 February 2008, Charlotte Metcalf includes some fascinating insights into the John Hall Venice Course.
"A wise friend once said that you only regret what you don’t do. Until I met John Hall....I had never really thought about it but ever since I have been regretting that I didn’t spend my time between school and university... in Italy."
"John Hall formed his Pre-University Course in 1965 when he decided he was bored being a schoolteacher and fled Kent for Venice. Over 40 years on, his passion for all things Italian, from sculpture to wine, remains undiminished."
Metcalf writes of Hall’s ability to boost "students' souls by exposing them to the wonders of Italian culture" and she continues "Hall is proud that many of his current students' parents attended his course. His formula has stood the test of time. As Sophia Seymour, a recent student, says, 'Whether you love art or cinema, food or poetry, the John Hall course has offered us a rounded knowledge that is hard to come by . . . we have all taken something away from this course which we will always remember and treasure.’"
"I think of my various godchildren trudging rather aimlessly round India and Vietnam, looking for meaningful experiences. Thirty years ago such a trip would have been extraordinary. Today, travel is so affordable and accessible that a gap-year trek round Namibia has become almost commonplace." She says that what John Hall Venice is offering is a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity... true education is about opening young souls and minds to life’s wonders and potential — in a safe, clean environment. What more could a parent want? If I were you, I’d confiscate that dreary rucksack immediately. Lest she have regrets later, I’m signing my three-year-old up now to ensure a place."
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