On 7 November we ran an International Day for years 7 and 8 to both promote the importance of learning about global communities and to develop skills in teamwork, resourcefulness and adaptability.

The day centered mainly on our link school in Peru and our students had the opportunity to learn something about:

• the geography and culture of Peru,
• international food
• cocoa/chocolate production and how Fair Trade works
• the Spanish language.

The week commencing Monday 10 November saw the Heads of Years 7 and 8, Dr King and Mr King respectively, together with four students from Year 12 – Stacey Kemp, Caitlin Whytock, Shaun Gray and Josh Callaghan – fly to Estonia to spend the week in the capital Tallinn. This trip took place as part of the Comenius Partnership Project, working with our link countries Spain, Finland and Estonia. The four Year 12 students are members of our Lead Learners team of 21 students who will be working with Year 7 and 8 students on a two year project, centered on climate change, in conjunction with students at our partner schools.

Later in November, a further day took place, heavily involving both our Year 11 GCSE Drama students and 24 Year 4, 5 and 6 students from some of our feeder schools – White Rock, Eden Park, Collaton St. Mary and Galmpton. The aim of the day was to help the primary school students understand the meaning of Sustainable Living through the medium of drama, and was led, in the main, by the Year 11s. The whole day was hugely successful, a comment from one of the primary school children was “it has been lots of fun and I have learnt what sustainability is and what I can do to help the world”.

All of the above activities are, additionally, instrumental in enhancing the very important key skills needed in later life – leadership, team work, presentation, confidence, risk-taking, creativity, decision-making, enterprise and resilience.

Policy Documents

AM Report
Application
British Council Report
Comenius Partnership 08
Governors Summary
Global Schools Application Form

We believe the global dimension is a vital part of our curriculum and therefore are keen to develop links with schools abroad in a range of projects.

We have links with schools in Peru, following an expedition in 2006, which has seen several teacher exchanges now take place. This is a significant part of our local partnership work with our primary schools.

We are half way through a Comenius Project on ‘Climate Change: Opportunities for Europe’, which includes partners in Finland, Estonia and Spain. This involves students in Years 7, 8 and 12 (2008-09).

The school has already been awarded the Intermediate International Schools Award and during this academic year has been working towards the full International Award, which we hope to achieve at the end of this year.