Comenius Partnership

We are very excited to announce that as of September 2009, we will have three partner schools in Europe. "Climate Changing Life: Life Changing Climate" is a partnership between four secondary schools from England, Austria, Spain and Norway who all met at a seminar in Norway in September 2008.

The Comenius Partnership will enable students and staff from these four schools to work together on joint projects. The climate theme allows us to focus on how our lives contribute to climate change and how climate change can and is impacting on our lives from a local, national and international perspective.

From working together with these schools our students will be able to learn more about other cultures and gain an insight into other teaching practices. Participating staff have reported increased enthusiasm and motivation from colleagues and children alike, often resulting in raised standards across the curriculum.

The benefits to the school include valuable opportunities for staff and students to work together, to explore and compare the creative methods used in the field of scientific investigation and to contribute to a common European understanding of important issues such as climate change. Students and teachers also have the possibility of visiting their partner institutions through the funding available.

The three schools who will be our partners are as follows:

In Austria

Europagymnasium u. Bundesgymnasium Salzburg-Nonntal, Salzburg
This school is situated next to a glacier and is one of the most prestigious school in Austria. They are a bi-lingual school and deliver their science lessons in English to the students.

In Norway

Ringshaug Ungdomsskole, Tolvsrød
The school is part of a small community where students wear their own clothes and address teachers by their first names. The headmaster himself is part of the Comenius project and is extremely enthusiastic for his staff to learn about teaching in other countries. Situated very close to a "Geopark", the school has a strong emphasis on the study of Geology. They are also advanced in their use of ICT in learning. Students do not get to choose their "options subjects" until they are 16. In Norway it is believed that education should be more general until students are older.

In Spain

Instituto de educación secundaria "Enrique Nieto", Melilla
This school is nestled between two Spanish towns on the African mainland, next to Morocco and are situated right next to the beach. Bordered by a very tall fence on all sides of the school, they have a very real problem with people trying to reach Spanish soil from Morocco and illegal immigrants scaling the heights of the fence. However, when lessons are over for the day and the regular students have returned home, the teachers remain to teach the children who have made it over the border.