'Connecting Classrooms is designed to help young people develop the knowledge, skills and values to live and work in a globalised economy. It does this by supporting thousands of teachers and school leaders worldwide to integrate a range of core skills into the curriculum through professional development and international school partnerships.'
Shaad Dhillon - International Schools Co-ordinator:
Redhill School are proud holders of the much coveted International Schools (full re-accreditation) 2019-2022. The award is managed by the British Council and has three distinct levels: Foundation, Intermediate and Full. The Award is a supportive and motivational framework which allows us to follow an accessible methodology to forge and sustain links with our partner school, enhance the curriculum and prepare our students for life, as global citizens, in an increasingly interconnected world.
Over the past 12 years, Redhill has established a strong partnership with Makololwe Primary School in Bungoma County, Western Kenya. Makololwe Primary school was established in 2000 by parents from the local community. It was originally built using traditional methods out of sticks, mud and banana fibres and financially supported by the parents who wanted to give their children something they had never had - the chance to go to school. When our previous International Schools Coordinator, Mrs Sedgebeer, first visited in 2011, she was told of the school's ambitious five-year plan to improve the facilities for the children. These plans included: building four new classrooms to compliment the seven currently available; digging eighteen more pit drop latrines and ensuring a clean supply of drinking water - there was no drinking water facility available to the pupils at that time. One of our first projects together, as a partnership, was the production of the 'World in our School' cookbook, the profits of which went to Makololwe to help them fund a borehole in order to supply clean drinking water. The new well, with its concrete surround and its secure manhole cover, is now replete with a sign proudly displaying the help they had received from Redhill. The second improvement was the building of a new classroom for the year 2 class. Initially, this class was held in a temporary, corrugated iron extension, the walls of which, did not reach the floor. As a consequence, during the rainy season, the class flooded, and the rammed mud floor became a quagmire. The school therefore decided that the best use of the rest of the money we had raised would be to put it towards covering the construction costs of a classroom for the children. The following year, another addition was made which was Makololwe's new kitchen block and storeroom. The chair of governors and a few parents volunteered to construct the wooden frame of the new kitchen block. The school children helped to fill the frame with mud 'bricks'. It brought home, in a very real and tangible way, that our partnership is not just about how we can help our friends and colleagues at Makololwe but what we can also learn from them and alongside them. In 2013, Makololwe School received a letter from the local council warning them that unless their toilets were renovated, the school will have to be closed by December. In the academic year 2013-14, we raised nearly £2000 via Y6 Sponsored events, Sponsored silence initiated by Y4 children and our International Coordinator's half marathon! Fortunately, this was enough to build 10 boys, 10 girls and 3 toilets for staff. The toilets were brick built and since their construction, they have been a source of pride for Makololwe and envy for the neighbouring schools, many of whom have visited to see the 'brick-built toilets'. Over the course of our partnership, we have welcomed 2 class teachers and the Headteacher of our partner school. We have had opportunities to plan and deliver lessons in each other's schools and share project outcomes of our pupils. This has given our pupils a real incentive to work towards an outcome as much of the work is often shared with Makololwe. We hope this partnership will continue and thrive in the coming years
Hello Mrs.Ward,
I am Hezekiah, it's been long since.How are you doing at Redhill?
l have attached photographs of some of the activities we have had at Makololwe .l will send copies of the earlier mails though they might've been overtaken by time. I once more want to appreciate all the efforts by you,your colleagues and pupils at Redhill,made and the cooperation l received during my visit.
Kindly pass my sincere regards to all.
With love from Makololwe, Yours,Hezekiah Munyagi