Business as usual despite the weather! How good it was to welcome Mr Reid and Kayleigh, Oscar, Melika and Semah, Year 13, from neighbouring Charter School, to talk in today’s assembly.

Like us, Charter School has active partnerships with schools and other institutions for children and young people abroad. You can read about our Romania project at www.jags.org.uk/community_links/romania/  The Charter has been in partnership with a school in Ghana, West Africa for about 3 years, supporting its development in very practical ways. Each summer about 12 students and some teachers spend a week staying at Konongo in the beautiful Ashanti region, teaching the children at the school.

It’s a challenge: first they have to fund their flights and living costs, so ingenious and persuasive methods were adopted, including Oscar organising gigs at his local record shop. Without schools like the one the Charter supports, there would be little chance of education continuing after primary level.  For the secondary age children there the Charter sixth formers were opening new doors. Trigonometry, Citizenship and Local issues, Sports - Kayleigh, Oscar, Melika and Semah turned their hands to show the keen and very polite children new ways of learning. For the Charter pupils it was a chance to experience a taste of a different culture; travelling for a couple of days also allowed them to take a tree-top walk over the canopy of the rain forest and to visit a monkey sanctuary. They’ve come home appreciating what they have here and inspired to see more of the world. Thanks to them all for enthusing us.