Enniskillen-Brackwede Pupil Exchange – Background
The partnership between our towns began back in 1958, with the participation of the Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards (stationed in Germany at the time) in a rifle festival being the catalyst.
Many friendships between people from Brackwede and Enniskillen and the surrounding area have developed over the years through choirs, sporting events and even an exchange visit between fire brigades! But it is fair to say that the central plank in our partnership is the School Exchange.
The first School Exchange with Brackwede took place in 1965, and the official exchange programme as we understand it today was first administered by the Western Education and Library Board in the early 1970s.
In 2001 the administration was taken over by the German departments of St Michael’s, The Collegiate, and Portora Royal. It is now organised by Enniskillen Royal Grammar School.
The Exchange has been referred to in the past as “the driving force behind the partnership” between Fermanagh and Brackwede.
This fitting description is a quote from the 1978 20th anniversary celebrations:
“The friendship between our citizens shall be a long lasting one and serve the unity of Europe and peace between its people.”
