The VBEP gives our students the unique opportunity to go on an online round-the-world journey, reach out beyond their own school community, and get to know other ISP students from all over the globe, virtually. The fact the world has various travel restrictions in place doesn’t stop our students from connecting with each other from different countries across the world!

This six-week programme runs from October to December. Through supervised weekly video calls of 45 minutes students practise their language, presentation and personal skills in English whilst having fun and learning more about other cultures and parts of the world. And all of this from the comfort of your own laptop in a safe and secure environment.

The programme is open to junior students aged 12 and 13 and senior students aged from 14 to 17 years of age. Students are only paired together within these age groups respectively. A maximum of eight students from each school can take part.

The video calls are centred around a topical theme each week which students prepare for and discuss their own presentation in English. Presentations are based on engaging topics including music, film & television series, sports, and a tour of your city or country. The final two topics are decided by the students themselves via an online poll of voice and choice. Students review who they’ve become buddies with and where they’ve travelled by completing a final learning reflection task.

With a maximum time difference of eight hours, the VBEP enables meetups as far apart as Chile and the UAE, and even Malaysia and Mexico. VBEP students and coordinators alike find the experience invaluable and eye-opening having access to many cultures and countries.

Learning Objectives

• Learn more about lifestyles and traditions from various cultures and nationalities around the world
• Build English language presentation and communication skills
• Develop and apply a range of personal skills including confidence and organisation
• Develop understanding of own strengths and identify areas for improvement

2021/2022

The VBEP connected 414 students from 44 schools across the two intakes. The programme may have been born out of not being able to do the Buddy Exchange Programme (BEP) (one-month in-country exchanges), but it remains one of the most popular of our programmes.