Bristol Schools celebrate Ugandan landmark
The 200th Ugandan teacher to visit a Bristol school as part of a long-running exchange programme will arrive in the city next week.
A group of 32 teachers and headteachers from Masindi in Uganda will be coming to Bristol, visiting classrooms, meeting parents and governors, and talking to children and young people about life in Africa.
To mark the occasion, Deogratius Byakagaba, Director of Education in Masindi, and Annie Hudson, Strategic Director, Children, Young People and Skills in Bristol, will re-sign the original ‘agreement of educational co-operation’, first agreed five years ago.
Joint projects between partner schools are planned, including producing a calendar on children’s rights and investigating fair trade issues.
Established seven years ago, the project has expanded over the years and now includes 18 schools in Bristol and 18 partner schools in Masindi. A group of teachers from Bristol visited Masindi during the February half-term break.
Last year, students took part in an exchange for the first time, with representatives from Henbury and St Mary Redcliffe and Temple secondaries visiting Uganda. Students described the visit as ‘the experience of a lifetime’ and said it stopped them taking things, including their education, for granted.
Councillor Clare Campion-Smith (pictured), Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “The project brings real benefits to both sides. For schools in Bristol, it opens up new ways of engaging young people in learning, as well as improving writing and knowledge about other countries.
Ugandan partner teachers say it has given them new approaches to teaching and inspiring young people.” The partnership activities are funded by the British Council and this is the largest project of its kind in the UK.
