The partnership between Earllington Secondary School, South Africa and Prince Henry’s Grammar School, Leeds grew out of the Positively Global project (2002-05) managed by the Leeds Development Education Centre.
The success of the partnership’s GSP grant application in 2006 led to three more years of funding with the final year in 2011.
Challenges in communicating with each other began early on in the partnership, as June Brighouse, former International Coordinator, PHGS, describes, “One of the preconceptions we had at both schools was that, because everyone spoke English, verbal communication would be no problem. Not so! In the first group of learners I spoke with a girl was overheard whispering to her teacher, ‘I thought they spoke English in the UK – I can’t understand a word she is saying.’ Accents on both sides proved an issue during the first video and phone conferences, but over time we overcame this.”
Since those early days five sets of students have participated in visits, giving them the opportunity to see what life is like for their peers in another country. By attending lessons, visiting students in their homes, sharing fieldwork and spending time together at various events, they gained a greater understanding of each other and many stereotypes and prejudices were challenged.
Students have worked together in most subject areas on a wide range of curriculum projects, such as Perceptions of Durban and the surrounding area; The impact of the 2010 World Cup; A comparison of the responses of learners from different cultures to global issues; Microclimate studies; Craftwork from recycled materials; Fairtrade ‘smoothies’ for business studies; Global warming; HIV & AIDS.
The teachers collaborative activity is impressive:
- A textbook produced for the matriculation level in South Africa, which has been published and is used widely across South Africa.
- UK teachers joined in with inset training on HIV&AIDS in Durban.
- Performance management materials developed in the UK to assess the effectiveness of teaching were used to examine teaching and learning in both schools. Teachers assessed each other using the agreed criteria during normal lessons.
- Research to investigate ways in which students from both countries reacted to or thought about events. These included the project ‘Obamarama’ with the BBC and work on ‘Blood Diamonds’ with Rafiki.
- The development of topics common to both curricula, such as the impact of global warming, issues of water supply and power and urban change. Materials about housing development in Durban are used by PHGS students for A level and GCSE case study work.
The impact of the partnership on learning and teaching was recognised in PHGS’s Ofsted report (2010): “Excellent use is made of global links to support students’ academic and personal development, in particular the principles surrounding good citizenship… This is an exemplary Global Partnership.”
Christopher Lillington, Assistant Head Teacher, PHGS, explains why the partnership will go from strength to strength beyond GSP funding.
“Our cherished partnership with Earlington Secondary School lies at the heart of our wider commitment to develop a truly international ethos throughout our school, where internationalism and global citizenship permeate the curriculum and impact on all aspects of school life.
We believe that our young people should be encouraged to think beyond merely the similarities and differences of language, culture and geography. If they are to develop as empowered global citizens, they must have the opportunity to look at global issues in terms of rights and responsibilities, both their own and those of others.
It is what happens on a day-to-day basis inside the classroom that really matters, which is why joint curriculum project work is central to our strategy. Our partnership has proved repeatedly that student learning, engagement and motivation are significantly improved when young people from different countries are given opportunities to learn about each other, but much more importantly, to learn from one another.
We are proud of what we have achieved together through our partnership. It has made a significant contribution to school-wide transformation in both schools and has inspired and supported the development of such work in numerous institutions.
Having benefited in recent years from GSP grants, our challenge now is to ensure the long-term sustainability of this important work for future cohorts of students and staff. I am confident that this will be achieved for two reasons:
- The key to the survival of any partnership is ‘ownership’
- The partnership is about much more than a school-to-school link. It is about true friendship. Long may that friendship last!”
June Brighouse points out some of the factors that will contribute to the sustainability of the partnership:
“It takes hard work, good communication and good curriculum and logistical planning to ensure that a partnership with another school is sustainable and contributes to learning.
Global education has been developing steadily at both schools over the last nine years. All students and staff, including non-teaching staff, engage with the concepts in some way. The work we are doing is evolving in a dynamic situation – staff move on, so the work has to be managed to fulfil the original objectives. If someone driving an initiative is no longer available and the objectives are still achieved, then it is a measure of the success of our aim to make the work sustainable.”
The next step then is long term sustainability for the partnership. The schools recognise that the key factors are to continue the constant communication and development of successful curriculum projects. They are looking for other funding streams and realise that exchange visits might become less frequent. However, the schools have signed a new partnership agreement encapsulating their commitment to maintaining the partnership true to their motto, ‘Sic nos non nobis – Not for ourselves alone’.
A new development is the three way link with Bachpan School in North India (another GSP school partnered with Southroyd Primary School). The shared cultural heritage of some learners at Earlington and Bachpan makes this an interesting development.
The last words of the partnership’s final report to GSP demonstrate why theirs is an enduring, dynamic relationship, “Being prepared to change and to look forward while being determined to develop this very successful partnership means it has every chance of maintaining its momentum.”