Teachers from the Maharashtra region of India visited schools in Lurgan recently to forge closer links with the UK and to build greater cultural understanding amongst young people and their teachers. The group included Mr Shrinivas Shastri Under Secretary, Department of School Education and Sports, Government of Maharashtra.

The teachers met colleagues from their Northern Ireland partner schools, Lurgan Model Primary School and Nursery Unit, Ceara Special School, St Francis Primary School and St Pauls Junior High School to plan joint projects that they and their pupils will work on as part of the British Council Connecting Classrooms programme.

Lynn Brown (the Partnership Co-ordinator) from Lurgan Model Primary School and Nursery Unit said: “Three teachers from Lurgan have completed initial training in our Connecting Classrooms programme. We are very excited about planning a project with teachers from India as it will give us opportunity to enhance links with schools in the area and also in a global context. Children will have the opportunity to establish relationships with peers in another country, work with them and learn from one another.

The visiting teachers visited the four schools to experience education in Northern Ireland. They also travelled to the SELB Headquarters in Armagh and met with Mrs Caitriona Hughes (Extended School Officer) and Mr Tony Murphy (Chief Executive).

Through their partnership, students and teachers will work together on classroom-based projects on curriculum topics. The activities aim to broaden pupils’ and teachers’ international horizons, increase motivation in the classroom and prepare young people for life in a global society. Through learning about their partners’ lives and culture, pupils and teachers in Lurgan will also learn about their own communities, heritage and identity, working with parents and local community groups.

As well as working on joint projects, teachers involved in Connecting Classrooms can attend professional development workshops to help them make the most of their partnerships, and schools can enter for awards to recognise their achievements in internationalism. The programme, which launches globally this year, already connects hundreds of schools in the UK with their counterparts in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and aims to link 30,000 schools and two million young people worldwide by 2013.

Olga Stanojlovic, Head of Schools in Education at the British Council, said: “It is more important than ever that we ensure our young people develop the skills and understanding they need to thrive in our global society.

"Working together through Connecting Classrooms will open young people’s eyes to what life is really like in other countries, and show them that young people share many of the same hopes and aims the world over".