International Schools

The children at St Patrick’s are involved in a wide range of stimulating international activities. The school has a long and proud history in working in collaboration with schools, in other parts of Europe, to enrich the curriculum. Giving the children an exciting look at the world beyond their own community

St Patrick’s is a fully accredited International School – awarded from The British Council, in recognition of our work to give a global dimension to the teaching and learning at St Patricks.

Working across a range of activities and projects to enrich our curriculum, the school have formed strong connections with school across Europe in Italy (Milan) and Portugal (Lisbon). Working in collaboration we have exchanged shared artwork, learnt and shared songs in our MFL work (Italian and Portuguese) and even created pen pals with our friends aboard. We shared examples of our work on the European Union online platform eTwinning. One of our collaborative projects received the recognition when awarded the eTwinning Award of excellence.  This was a joint project with our friends in Milan based themed around Holocaust Memorial Day. The schools then created an eBook of our work together. 

Beginning this academic year, St Patrick’s have started an exciting new project working with CAFOD and the British Council through their ‘Connecting Classroom’ platform. This brings together three English schools and three schools in Nairobi, Kenya. The theme of the year long project is to highlight the importance of global goal issues to children across the six schools.  

Gender Equality 

We wanted to provide a thirst of knowledge and encourage our children to be ambitious; to encourage them to try new skills without a fear of failure. To be accomplished by sharing best practise prior to and during exchanges. We met together and one full day teacher conference was organised in each country to discuss and share best practise regarding high aspirations for girls.  We arranged for women scientists to speak to the children about possible careers, thus giving the children a range of experiences of Science in Industry. We virtually met Annette England, who received an MBE for her efforts towards the COVID 19 vaccine and shared all the photographs and ideas with our Kenyan schools.

 

Life on Land 

This involves developing a learning programme based around Forest school projects in the UK and conservation projects in Kenya. Using the grounds at St.Patrick’s, we helped give students and staff to develop a better understanding of climate change and biodiversity loss issues globally whilst focussing on environmental concerns that are ‘local to the UK and Kenyan schools’. We have access to a bee colony at a neighbouring school which we use linked with our science curriculum. 

 

Climate Change

In our school we currently have a children’s group called our ‘Eco Warriors’ who support recycling, minimising the use of electricity and a number of environment friendly activities. The aim of this activity is to create a World Eco Warriors group with partner schools to share aims and focuses of how we can help our environment. We use Pope Francis encyclical on the environment as our mission statement. He has warned of an “unprecedented destruction of ecosystems” and “serious consequences for all of us” if humanity fails to act on climate change. He also described man’s destruction of the environment as a sin and accused mankind of turning the planet into a “polluted wasteland full of debris, desolation and filth”. 

These groups will share ideas and brainstorm the methods and policies that need to be put in place for better practice within schools to reduce our effect on the world in which we live. Children and parents are working together to identify ways in which we can reduce the electricity we use and will posters and leaflets to take home to remind themselves of what they can do at home to reduce electricity we use. 

Children will be able to compare their ideas with their partner schools to identify how we have similar concerns and can all work together to help each other All school’s exchange their work with teach other and this will be shared with parents to demonstrate how we can all work together to reduce the electricity we use.

As well as a busy programme of work for our international projects St Patrick’s also sends children on an annual adventure to Holland where Year 6 learn lots about our near neighbours in Europe.