Nus visited St Mark’s School in Hadlow Down in order to learn more about their participation in the Department for International Development’s (DfID) joint scheme with the British Council, ‘Connecting Classrooms’. Nus was given a tour of the school by Co-Head Teacher, Claire Rivers, and Chair of Governors, Vicky Richards.
St Mark’s is a small Church of England primary school of ninety-one children, aged four to eleven.
The DfID/ British Council ‘Connecting Classrooms’ scheme, which St Mark’s is participating in, creates partnerships between schools across the UK and schools in developing countries. It gives British children the opportunity to act as ambassadors and learn about the world. In the longer term, the programme aims to help young people here and overseas to develop the skills and values to live and work in a globalised economy.
St Mark’s School has a long tradition of working with schools in less developed areas of the world; in the past they have worked with Schools in Ghana and Bangladesh as part of a scheme where they exchanged teachers.
During her visit to the school, Nus visited all four classrooms and discussed democracy with the children, to tie in with the elections taking place in the school for the school parliament. She also met with the pupils who were running as candidates for the parliament in order to talk about their campaign ideas.
Commenting on the visit, Ms Ghani said: “I am delighted that St Mark’s School in Uckfield is participating in the Connecting Classrooms Programme. In a post-Brexit Britain, we must continue to be outward-facing and to build international relationships at all levels. Today I have seen a fantastic example of Global Britain in action and I want to congratulate St Mark’s on their commitment to championing this cultural exchange with pupils overseas.
The students were very enthusiastic about the scheme and were keen to participate in conversations about democracy. As they were in the middle of elections for their school parliament, I particularly enjoyed swapping tips with the candidates on how to run for office, having just spent the summer in election mode. The commitment and passion of the teachers, governors and co-heads was reflected in the students, who were both inspiring and great ambassadors for Wealden’s schools.”
