Connecting classrooms across the sea

Kenyan teachers from a town more than 4,000 miles away travelled to Cheshire East this week to meet their counterparts. 

A delegation of three representatives from the Njoro education district, in Kenya, made the cross-continental journey on Monday (February 28) to meet with heads of Cheshire East schools. 

Thanks to funding from the British Council, the delegation will visit 10 schools in Cheshire East to share ideas on global education and ultimately develop Global School Partnerships.

The Global School Partnerships Programme encourages schools around the world to share effective practice on developing a 'global' dimension in their respective curriculums.

The Cheshire East schools involved in the project are: Astbury St Mary’s Primary School, in Congleton; Rainow Primary School, in Macclesfield; Pebble Brook Primary School, in Crewe; Buglawton C of E Primary School, in Congleton; The Berkeley Primary School, in Crewe; Disley Primary School, in Disley; Lostock Hall Primary School, in Poynton; King’s Grove School, in Crewe; and Egerton Primary School, in Knutsford.

The delegation is due to return to Kenya on Friday, March 11. 

The partnerships will be similar to the celebrated link between Egerton Primary School, in Knutsford, Cheshire, and its namesake in Njoro, Kenya, which was built by Lord Egerton of Tatton, in 1939. The five-year-old partnership has been hailed as an example of outstanding practice by the British Council.  

The visit follows a recent trip by Cheshire East school heads, who visited 10 schools in Njoro to help to develop school links. Alison Hooper, head at Egerton School, in Knutsford, was selected to represent Cheshire East, along with Jenny Wagstaffe of Astbury St Mary’s Primary School and Mark Bertinshaw of Rainow Primary School.

Councillor Hilda Gaddum, Cabinet member with responsibility for children and family services, said: “Partnerships like these play a very important role in giving schools a global dimension to their curriculum.

“The project supports our vision to improve community life and cohesion by encouraging Cheshire East’s children to think more about subjects like diversity, globalisation, peace and sustainable development.”