Batley school reaches out to Egypt in twinning project

Batley Girls’ High School (BGHS) has twinned with a girls’ school in Egypt in a bid to learn more about another culture.

The linking of the two secondary schools will also see teachers embark on an exchange visit to experience life in each other’s countries.

Head of modern foreign languages, Emma Hodgson, who applied for the twinning, said the project would broaden pupils’ horizons.

“The aim is to develop the need to work in a global economy,” she said. “It’s cultural enrichment.

“It’s to develop global citizens and is about embracing other cultures and being open to other people’s ideas.”

She added that pupils already working on the project were enthusiastic about learning about another country.

The school is already trading information with The Secondary School for Girls in El Zabir via an online web portal.

Pupils in both countries have uploaded pictures of their schools and have prepared presentations depicting what a typical day is like for a British pupil and an Egyptian pupil.

In September teacher Huda Hassan will visit BGHS for two weeks and then next spring Mrs Hodgson will visit The Secondary School for Girls.

It is hoped future collaboration will lead to a pupil exchange between the two schools to allow the girls to experience life in each other’s cultures.

The project will spread across lessons in all subjects across the school, with a more global outlook included in everything from maths and English to art and design.

And the school’s involvement in the twinning will earn it an International Schools Award by the end of term.

The national scheme, titled Connecting Classrooms Around the World, has been funded by the British Council as part of a government initiative and more than 5,200 schools have already taken part.

MP Justine Greening, secretary of state for International Development, said: “Young people and teachers can make a fantastic contribution by sharing the best of Britain with their peers around the world and at the same time, the great thing is that they can get invaluable knowledge of what life is like in other cultures.”