Clanfield

Another world, just down the road

Rowenna Davis
Tuesday April 29, 2008

EducationGuardian.co.uk

Amanda Warrick teaches at Clanfield Church of England school in rural Oxfordshire. Last year her school linked with SS Mary and John, a school in urban Oxford. Unlike her primary school of 82 pupils, the majority of whom are white, SS Mary and John has 383 students from a diverse range of backgrounds.

Many of our students don't travel outside the village, and the partnership gives them a chance to get to know people from other cultures. Last year we mixed up the two schools in a day of joint team-building activities at a local residential centre. In one challenge, teams had to get five people on to a large pair of skis and maneouvre them through an obstacle course. Such events help build relationships and understanding.

Their school council has come to visit ours, and we're now planning a return trip. We want to use the visit to develop a joint project on water as part of the national curriculum. Here in the village we're on a tributary of the Thames, while they're on the river Isis - we think this could form a good basis for joint working. By focusing more on what we have in common than what we have apart, we are breaking down the idea of difference.

Of course, communication is an issue - and time. It helps that we're both part of the Global Schools Project, so we often get to talk at meetings and training events. This face-to-face contact is useful; it's important to get together and thrash out your expectations so you have a common goal.

In my experience, local links can be better than international ones. They show that people from other cultures live down the road, not just abroad. Our partnership is making multiculturalism relevant to the children - and that's important.
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