The school has been awarded the British Council’s prestigious International School Award in recognition of our work to bring the world into the classroom.

The International School Award is a badge of honour for schools that do outstanding work in international education, such as through links with partner schools overseas. Fostering an international dimension in the curriculum is at the heart of the British Council’s work with schools, so that young people gain the cultural understanding and skills they need to live and work as global citizens.

Woodhouse Grove School has International links with 10 schools across the world including schools in China, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Australia. The links have been developed over time and include; school trips, individual pupil and teacher exchanges and web-based projects.  At the beginning of 2015 a member of teaching staff spent 6 months at Newington College, Sydney and this summer pupil Molly Leslie (Y10) spent 4 weeks at Westminster School, Adelaide. The school annually hosts pupils from Methodist College, Kowloon, Hong Kong and in 2014 a group of our pupils visited Wuxi United International School, Wuxi, China. This week our pupils and their families hosted 9 pupils from Xiaoshi High School, Ningbo, China.

On hearing the news that the school had received the award Peter Lambert, Modern Languages Teacherand International Coordinator said “We are delighted that The Grove has received this award which honours the efforts of many people over a number of years, who have striven to widen the horizons of our young people. Now our students can truly begin to have a view beyond the confines of the classroom, to develop their own sense of globalism and make their contribution to making the world a better and a safer place. We all knew that we were an international school, but now we have the proof and we look forward to telling everyone about it!”

British Council Chief Executive, Sir Ciarán Devane, said: ‘The school’s fantastic international work has rightfully earned it this prestigious award. The International School Award is a great chance for schools to demonstrate the important work they’re doing to bring the world into their classrooms. Adding an international dimension to children’s education ensures that they are truly global citizens and helps prepare them for successful future careers in an increasingly global economy.’

The award is now available worldwide in countries such as India, Egypt, Lebanon and Pakistan as part of the Connecting Classrooms programme, which is delivered by the British Council and supported by the Department for International Development (DFID).

International Development Secretary Justine Greening said:

“Young people must be at the heart of our work to create a safer and more prosperous world for everyone and we need to ensure their voices are heard if we are to win the fight against global poverty. That is why I am delighted to celebrate the international work of [name of school here] and the energy and passion of the young people involved.

“The International School Award is a great way of highlighting how young people have the potential to change things for the better. I’m sure that schools getting involved will be broadening the horizons of their students, which will not only help their careers but benefit their wider lives in the future.”

Around 5,000 International School Awards have been presented to successful schools in the UK since the scheme began in 1999.

The International School Award encourages and supports schools to develop:

• An international ethos embedded throughout the school
• A majority of pupils within the school impacted by and involved in international work
• Collaborative curriculum-based work with a number of partner schools
• Curriculum-based work across a range of subjects
• Year-round international activity
• Involvement of the wider community