A generation ago most pupils had no contact with children from other countries. A few had overseas penpals and the lucky ones took part in pupil exchanges. Today, schools from Swansea and Swaziland can communicate at the click of a button and many organisations support links with Europe, Africa and Asia. But most teachers have yet to realise how much a truly international dimension can enrich school life.
That is why The TES is launching its Make the Link campaign today to urge teachers to forge far more ambitious partnerships with schools across the world. As Alex Town, a pupil at Staffordshire’s Polesworth high school which has 35 joint curriculum projects with a partner in Ghana, says:
“Learning like this makes you want to burst out of the bubble of Europe and escape into new continents.”
