ST HELENA STUDENTS PEN CLASSIC EXCHANGE WITH CARDIFF PUPILS

Cardiff StudentsThe Royal Mail Group in the UK helped to mark the final voyage of the RMS St Helena from the UK – the last working Royal Mail Ship – with a special Pen-Pal exchange between children from St Paul’s Primary, Pilling Primary and Harford Primary Schools on St Helena with pupils from Mount Stuart Primary School in Cardiff, Wales.  Each group of students wrote about their own lives.

The letters from St Helena made their way to the UK aboard the RMS on her recent UK visit.  Pupils from Mount Stuart School boarded the RMS in London and handed their letters to the Captain who, in turn, gave them the letters from St Helena.  The Cardiff letters are now heading back to the Island aboard the RMS, which departed the UK today for the South Atlantic.

The current RMS St Helena originally set sail from Cardiff to St Helena 26 years ago. Since then she has undertaken 243 round trips, covering more than 1.1 million miles and carrying thousands of letters and parcels.

Acting Headteacher at Mount Stuart School, Lynne Berriman, said:

 “The children were so excited to be involved in such a fascinating project. They are so inquisitive about the wider world and this fabulous exchange has given them the chance to discover first-hand how different peoples’ lives can be.”

St Helena Government UK Representative, Kedell Worboys MBE, said:

“It is great that the Royal Mail has marked the last voyage of the RMS St Helena.  As one of the most isolated islands in the world, a lot of communication is done by letter – this means the arrival of the ship is eagerly awaited by the population – waiting to receive letters, parcels and for the shops to be restocked.”

Head of Public Affairs at Royal Mail, David Gold, concluded:

“Over the last 500 years, the postal service has provided an invaluable communication channel for those in the UK and across the globe.  We are delighted to have marked the final journey of this unique ship from the UK and feel certain that letters will continue to play a vital role in the lives of residents of this remote British Overseas Territory.”

SHG

14 June 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

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St Helena Government Communications Hub

Telephone: 22470
Email: kimberley.peters@sainthelena.gov.sh