Understanding the world through MLC Global Learning Programs 

Understanding the world through MLC Global Learning Programs 

August 6th, 2025

For years, MLC has offered students and staff opportunities to make unique connections and extend their learning through diverse settings and experiences.  

In 1903, a morning excursion saw students visiting the Japanese flagship, Hashidate, in Port Melbourne. This visit was likely the first time MLC students engaged with Japanese culture through a first-hand experience, but it was just the beginning.  

Today, the Global Learning Program is an important extension of MLC’s extensive co-curricular offering. Each trip provides age-appropriate opportunities linked to academic disciplines, service learning or cultural awareness – or often a combination of all three.  

Sister School Study Tours  

MLC’s Sister School Tours offer both a cultural tour component and linked learning activities, typically with a short homestay element. One long-standing partnership is with Gakushuin Girls’ School in Japan. Over the past two decades, our schools have built a bridge of friendship, allowing Year 10 students to undertake a week-long visit to Japan every second year, with Gakushuin students visiting MLC in return. MLC’s sister school tours offer students the chance to build international friendships and experience life in another culture.   

Cultural and Service Learning Tours  

The Global Learning Program also encompasses cultural awareness and service-learning trips linked with our partner NGO’s. Each year level has an associated NGO in which students have the opportunity to visit and experience, offering services while also linking to curriculum-based learning and experiences. Some examples include:  

  • Years 7-8: The Red Earth Tour is a week-long-in-depth cultural awareness tour in northern Queensland, and a unique opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the culture of the traditional owners and elders living in Cape York. 
  • Years 9-10: The Tanzania Service Learning Tour connects students with the School of St Jude in Tanzania, which provides free, high-quality education to over 1,800 students. MLC students contribute to community projects while exploring the people, culture and landscapes of Africa.
  • Years 11: The Baan Tharn Namchai Tour sees students visiting Thailand to engage with local communities and support a children’s home through daily activities and work projects, building empathy and global awareness. 


Curriculum-based Tours 

Curriculum-linked academic study tours provides students with the opportunity to extend their learning in particular courses and disciplines. MLC offers tours in Art & Design, Humanities, Health, Food & Hospitality, Science, Music and Education Outdoors.  Highlights include:  

  • Sydney Art & Design Tour: Students visited Sydney to explore contemporary and historical art and fashion, attending worksops and viewing artworks from the Archibald, Sulman and Wynne prices, and contemporary Australian First Nations exhibitions.
  • European History Alive Tour: More recently, students visited Paris, Rome and Germany to uncover captivating stories of Europe’s past. The tour is tailor made for students with a passion for History and an eagerness to deepen their understanding of topics they study in both IB and VCE History, from the French Revolution to the Roman Empire.
  • Galapagos Islands Biological Sciences Tour: In early 2026, students will travel to Galagos Island and Quito where they’ll be involved in the continuing scientific research in a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

 

MLC’s Global Learning Program helps students understand the world, and their place in it. Whether they’re learning from Elders in Cape York or exploring the ruins of ancient Rome, students return with new perspectives, deeper empathy, and a stronger sense of global citizenship. 

The full list of tours and experiences offered through our Global Learning Program can be found here.