26 July 2006 World ORT Rosner English Summer School ends for 2006 This years World ORT Rosner English Summer School graduates have returned to their respective homes after two weeks immersion in English language and culture. The seriousness of the students to reach the goal of improving their English so that they can tutor fellow ORT students has impressed the coordinator of the summer school, Yitzhak Francis. They were all very committed to go back to teach, Mr Francis said. They spoke about it among themselves, about how best to go about it. They didnt see this as a vacation; they saw it as a mission. It was clear to me that the students were bright and dedicated. All of them exhibited leadership skills. The 18 students from ORT schools in Israel, the former Soviet Union and for the first time Italy spent two weeks in intensive English language tuition combined with sight seeing, cultural and educational trips. For security reasons, Mr Francis did not allow the teenagers to speak Hebrew in the street. Because of the situation in Israel, I didnt want anyone to know that they were Israelis. This meant that the group had to communicate entirely in English. Under my supervision, they also had to buy their own bus and Tube tickets, shop for groceries and deal with other day to day matters. So they had a complete experience of how it is to live in London and speak everyday English, Mr Francis said. For the Israelis it had been difficult to be separated from their families and friends as the conflict with Hezbollah worsened. They were eager to get back and give their support to their families and their country, Mr Francis said. Rosner students with Tower Bridge in the background. World ORT Head of Education Dr Gaby Meyassed expressed his delight at the success of this years summer school. English language skills are extremely important nowadays, he said. We were very happy to help such a lovely group of students improve their skills. We all felt particularly glad to be able to support the ORT Israel students at this difficult time.