Warwickshire News Mine

South Warwickshire schools are this week welcoming seven teachers and headteachers from township schools in South Africa who have come to the UK to work together on the first part of a reciprocal visits grant.

The guests will spend time with four Studley primary schools (St Mary’s C of E Junior, St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Mappleborough C of E school and Coughton C of E School) to prepare for a project that will encompass shared teaching and learning experiences for pupils in partner schools during a joint curriculum project.  This is as a result of the British Council’s Global Schools Partnership programme.

During their time in Warwickshire they will plan and prepare the work to be covered during the project, engage in visits to find out more about the county and meet educationalists and civic officials. One appointment at Shire Hall in Warwick on 15 July will be about children’s services and school life in Warwickshire.

Tim Lee, Headteacher of Studley St Mary’s C of E Junior School, promoted the exchange visit. He said: “We are delighted to welcome our guests. This exchange has benefited everyone involved and offered a great opportunity to teach pupils about another culture. We will continue to develop our links with our South African colleagues after they return home.”

Warwickshire County Council’s International Development Officer Judith Walker added: “I really enjoyed meeting the South African cohort at Shire Hall on Thursday. The well-planned visit has been extremely successful and the twinned schools have already learned a lot from each other - I’m sure this will continue as their relationship develops.”

Warwickshire County Councillor Heather Timms, portfolio holder for children, young people and families said: “I commend the staff from the Studley schools who organised this trip. There is always much to learn through comparing and contrasting education methods with our neighbours around the world and this exchange is no exception.”

The visit will help the group of schools to gain ICONS (International Cross of Nails) accreditation from Coventry Cathedral which is a global schools initiative to make the world a better place to live.

The theme of the inter-school project with South Africa is ‘peace and reconciliation’. Their aim is to share strategies for dealing with conflict and compare their experiences. They will be concentrating on the pupil voice within the context of each school and pupils and staff will continue to communicate with each other using ICT.

To progress and sustain the school’s collaboration, funding has been secured from the Department for International Development.

Link to WCC