Schools across Wales have been awarded the British Council’s prestigious International School Award in recognition of its work to bring the world into the classroom.
The International School Award is a badge of honour for schools that do outstanding work in international education, such as through links with partner schools overseas. Fostering an international dimension in the curriculum is at the heart of the British Council’s work with schools, so that young people gain the cultural understanding and skills they need to live and work as global citizens.
The award was presented at the Wales International School Award Ceremony at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff on 25 February 2015.
Director of British Council Wales, Jenny Scott, said: “The International School Award encourages schools to make international links and promotes shared understanding between different cultures, particularly important in the modern world. This is a great achievement for all the winning schools and I know that it reflects a lot of hard work by the school staff.”
At the awards ceremony pupils took part in workshops, trying their hand at Brazilian drumming, learning about Fairtrade and hearing from Antony Jinman about his adventures as a polar explorer.
The winning schools were:
- Evenlode Primary School, Penarth
- Gwernyfed High School, Three Cocks, Brecon,
- Jenner Park Primary School, Barry
- Llanedeyrn Primary School, Cardiff
- Maes yr Haul Primary School, Bridgend
- Plascrug Primary School, Aberystwyth
- St Christopher's School, Wrexham
- St Nicholas Church in Wales Primary School, Vale of Glamorgan
- Terrace Road Primary School, Swansea
- Willowbrook Primary School, Cardiff
- Ysgol Gymraeg Lon Las, Swansea
- Ysgol Gynradd Llanllechid, Bangor
- Ysgol Heol Goffa, Llanelli
- Ysgol Hiraddug, Dyserth, Denbighshire
The International School Award
The award is now available worldwide in countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Lebanon, Cyprus and Pakistan as part of the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms programme. Around 5,000 International School Awards have been presented to successful schools in the UK since the scheme began in 1999.
The International School Award encourages and supports schools to develop:
• An international ethos embedded throughout the school
• A majority of pupils within the school impacted by and involved in international work
• Collaborative curriculum-based work with a number of partner schools
• Curriculum-based work across a range of subjects
• Year-round international activity
• Involvement of the wider community
The British Council International School Award started in 1999 to recognise the schools leading the way in instilling and developing a global dimension into the learning experience of all children and young people. It is managed by the British Council.
British Council Schools Online is a supportive ‘one stop shop’ to help schools find international opportunities and teaching resources, including details about the British Council International School Award. Any school can find out how to apply by visiting Schools Online
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide.
We work in more than 100 countries and our 8,000 staff – including 2,000 teachers – work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year by teaching English, sharing the arts and delivering education and society programmes.
We are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter. A core publicly-funded grant provides 20 per cent of our turnover which last year was £864 million. The rest of our revenues are earned from services which customers around the world pay for, such as English classes and taking UK examinations, and also through education and development contracts and from partnerships with public and private organisations. All our work is in pursuit of our charitable purpose and supports prosperity and security for the UK and globally.
For more information, please visit: wales.britishcouncil.org/en
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