\u201cFurther develop links with our partner school in Bo, Sierra Leone\u201d \u2013 so read our School Improvement Plan.\u00a0 That sounded simple enough\u2026 The idea had been incubating for a couple of years, before the glimmer of an opportunity began to look more and more of a possibility.\u00a0 A few false starts with funding, potential visit dates, clarification of purpose, some generous donations to support myself and one of my teacher\u2019s and plans began to take shape.\u00a0 There came a point where this visit was either going to happen soon, or never.\u00a0 Some excellent encouragement and practical advice from Fr. Bruce and Gerry Holben, Rev. Mark Payne (who I have yet to meet!) and school staff and Governors, supported the vision becoming a reality.\u00a0 One of the most profound learning experiences of my life \u2013 both personally and professionally would not have come about without their help and a good deal of prayer and positive thinking.<\/p>\n
Our pupils worked hard before we left \u2013 preparing items to give a \u2018flavour\u2019 of our culture \u2013 both within our school, and further afield.\u00a0 We took home made board games \u2013 such as \u2018Race to the Beach\u2019 \u2013 which the children at St. Paul\u2019s thoroughly enjoyed playing.\u00a0 Music for one of our favourite hymns \u2018All the Nations of the Earth\u2019\u2013 and I had an opportunity to teach it to a class of fifty students\u2013 some of them, in turn, sung some beautiful Gospel songs to me.\u00a0 A bag of our \u2018treasured\u2019 gold stars \u2013 awarded in assembly for extra special work or behaviour \u2013 was taken out with a little note from the youngest children in school hoping that the pupils at St. Paul\u2019s might like to do a similar thing.\u00a0 Rev Solomon Scott-Manga \u2013 the Acting Principal \u2013 certainly enjoyed wearing one for the rest of our visit!\u00a0 The Prayer of St. Richard, a prayer we often say at school, was taken and shared with staff and pupils.<\/p>\n
Skipping ropes, recorders and music books, squared paper, footballs and kit, magnifying glasses were all received with excitement, enthusiasm and grace.\u00a0 Watching the teachers examine their skin under the magnifying glass, look at posters of the human body and work out where the various parts were on their own body, teach themselves how to play the recorder, and begin to plan lessons about graphs was \u2013 humbling – whilst at the same time hugely encouraging.\u00a0 The level and breadth of professional dialogue was demanding, and left myself and Miss Johnson full of admiration for the resilience and resourcefulness of the teachers at St. Paul\u2019s.<\/p>\n
So how does all of this (and so much more) help the children at West Wittering Parochial CE Primary School?\u00a0 The work they put in beforehand, linked with the feedback from myself and Miss Johnson has supported them to better understand the similarities and differences which exist between themselves and those children in Western Africa.\u00a0 They have been able to question, and learn, far beyond any opportunities offered by books, or even \u2013 dare I say it \u2013 the internet!\u00a0 The letters they sent were well planned and thoughtful, and the replies they received gave them far greater insight into those young people\u2019s lives than any previously.\u00a0 They understand that pupils at St. Paul\u2019s are desperate to be at school, to learn and make a better life for themselves, their families and their country.\u00a0 They know that many of them enjoy doing the same things they do \u2013 playing football, chatting with their friends, playing with pets, spending time with their families.\u00a0 They know that their lives are different \u2013 not better or worse \u2013 just different. \u00a0\u00a0Cultural exchange transformed into global education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"