Funday Times

The folks at the British Council in Sri Lanka have been rather busy in the last two weeks. As you've probably figured out by now, they spend a lot of time, energy and funds on education related projects. Most recently, they've initiated a programme called the Global School linking programme and as a part of this a World Links Seminar was held from the 27th of May to the 3rd of June. What was it all about? Read on to find out.

What is the Global School linking
programme?

It's a programme designed to help form, build and maintain long lasting partnerships between schools in Sri Lanka and schools in the U.K. These partnerships will become the channels through which these schools interact with each other - working together on curriculum based projects that both sets of schools can have fun with and learn from. Thirty secondary schools and eight primary schools in Sri Lanka have already established links with schools in the U.K. "The idea has been to keep it simple, and to operate within the existing curriculum," says Sri Kandasamy, the Education Services Manager at the British Council.

How does that work? Well, students in both schools will keep food diaries listing all the things they've been eating everyday. After a certain period, these diaries will be exchanged and hey presto, Sri Lankan school children will be given a glimpse of life in the U.K and vice versa. The same is done for say the weather, explains, Deepthi Wijesinghe, Head of Schools Projects. In the end, children and teachers alike are more motivated to participate and make learning fun.

The World Link Seminar

Fourteen secondary schools from the U.K met their Sri Lankan counterparts, along with British Council staff from Sri Lanka and the U.K and got together for a week. The results of this seminar were as varied as they were numerous. Not only were new friendships formed and new school partnerships decided, those who participated walked away with a better understanding and a heightened appreciation of each others cultures.

Schools from North Humberside and Yorkshire will be linking with schools in Ambalangoda, Galle and Matara, while schools from Cambridgeshire and Northern Ireland will be linking with schools in Colombo. In order to ease the 'getting-to-know-each-other' bit a partner fair was organised. Each school was allotted a space and asked to create a display. Amongst the items that finally found their way onto the table were school prospectuses, uniforms, projects by students, lists of extracurricular activities, photographs and even favourite foods. The fair, which gave each school a chance to put their best foot forward, was an ideal way for representatives to talk and decide whether their respective schools would be compatible or not.

The results of the collaboration are already becoming visible, Ms. Wijesinghe explains. Students have reported enjoying their classes better, while teachers are feeling more motivated and confident. For the participants of the program, the chance to visit the other's country is a big incentive. To be eligible for the grant that would make it possible however, schools must begin and maintain joint project work which should integrate the 8 DFIDs or eight global dimension themes. These are: Global Citizenship, Conflict Resolution, Diversity, Human Rights, Interdependence, Social Justice, Values and Perceptions, and Sustainable Development.

The next step up the ladder could very well be the ISA or the International School Awards. The awards provide recognition for teachers and their schools working to instil a global dimension into the learning experience of all children and young people. Already five schools in Sri Lanka have applied, namely Maliyadeva College, Sangabodhi Vidyalaya, Rahula College, Kegalu Vidyalaya, Mahmud Ladies College.

The U.K government is offering strong encouragement for such projects, reveals Mr. Kandasamy, especially in the light of their declaration that by the year 2010, every single school in the U.K must have a link with a school overseas.