Category Archives: International Education

Competition, International Education, International partnerships, The Commonwealth Class

UK Schools needed for Commonwealth Class Competition

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Commonwealth Class are searching for fifteen UK schools to take part in a special element of the programme which will see them placed into teams with nine other schools from across the Commonwealth.

Teams will work on a series of monthly collaborative projects between January and May 2014 with prizes given for the best work each month. The project can be carried out within your school as a single class or organised across subjects or year groups. Schools must be able to commit to spending at least one lesson per week on the project. Monthly project activities will lead up to a celebration of the work at the end of May 2014. This could be an online gallery, a film, a book or a blog that will be judged and an overall winning team will be selected. Each school from the winning team will be invited to send one teacher and one student (aged 10 or above) to visit Glasgow during the Commonwealth Games in July/August 2014!

During the project each team will follow the progress of a Commonwealth athlete as they prepare to compete at Glasgow 2014. Athletes that have signed up include Olympic Triathlon gold medallist Alistair Brownlee, Team Scotland athlete Eilidh Child, the fastest man in the world Usain Bolt and the British Council’s own Susie Rodgers. Depending on the athletes’ schedule, schools will have the chance to communicate with them as they train for The Games.

Organisers are looking for the most committed and enthusiastic schools for this unique and exciting project. To apply for a place in a Commonwealth Class team you should complete the application form and return to the address noted within, by Friday 20 December. Places will be given to the schools that in 200 words best say why they want to take part in Commonwealth Class and how joining the project will benefit their school community.

If you are not selected for a team there’s still plenty of opportunities for your school to take part in Commonwealth Class. The education pack is an excellent resource to introduce your class to the Commonwealth and its values, and you can download a PDF copy by visiting British Council Schools Online. The weekly BBC debates are a great opportunity for your students to converse with their peers in real time. The debates so far have been lively discussions on themes including importance of learning languages and island living. At the next debate on Thursday 12 December they’ll be discussing the effects of sport on self-esteem and confidence. Your class can contribute to the discussion on Thursday by emailing comments to the BBC debate moderators at commonwealthclass@bbc.co.uk.

Commonwealth Class is a project of the BBC, British Council and Commonwealth Secretariat.

Competition, International Education, International partnerships, Literacy

Youth Leadership programme: 33Fifty

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33Fifty is a leadership programme for young Commonwealth citizens aged between 18 and 25. Devised by a partnership of the Royal Commonwealth Society and social enterprise Common Purpose, the programme aims to develop young people to lead change and use the Commonwealth’s networks to greater effect. The name of the initiative is derived from the statistics that 33 percent of the world’s population live in a Commonwealth nation or territory, and 50 per cent of those are under 25 years old.

The programme will involve participants in a range of practical activities in July 2014, focused around a challenge relating to an issue of importance to all Commonwealth countries – “what role does the youth of the Commonwealth need to play in progress towards low-carbon economies”.

Organisers are inviting young people, aged 18-25 on the 17th July 2014, to apply to become part of the programme. Applications must be submitted by the deadline of 16th March 2014. The programme will bring together 100 young people, from Scotland and from the wider Commonwealth, to investigate, discuss and prepare some conclusions on the key challenge issue. Participants will then present their responses to some of the senior politicians who have gathered in Glasgow for CG2014.

The programme has attracted funding from both Scottish Government and commercial sponsors. It forms part of the cultural legacy of CG2014, and was launched in Scotland last week by Shona Robison, Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport.

Glow Meet, International Education, partnership, The Commonwealth Class

Debating the Games

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Young Scots and Sri Lankans virtually met at the new building of the British Council in Colombo to engage in discussions about the Commonwealth Games and values.

14 -17 year old pupils at St Joseph’s Academy in Kilmarnock and Stonelaw High in Rutherglen linked up with Holy Trinity College in Kandy, and Colombo schools, Vishaka Vidyalaya and Mahinda Rajapaksa College, to discuss their educational and cultural links with HRH Prince Tunku Imran, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation.

Education Scotland, with the support from the British Council, made the live exchange possible via the unique education tool Glow. The session supported the British Council’s Commonwealth Class programme that provides resources, online BBC debates and interactive activities for schools to mark the run-up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Watch gain:  If you have missed this session you can catch up on it here

Active, Educational resources, Games Legacy, Glasgow 2014, International Education, Queen's Baton Relay

New projects: Xtrayard and Get Scotland Dancing

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Game On Scotland is delighted to announce that we have just added two more projects to the Other educational projects section of the site. From the outset we’ve been keen to create a one-stop-shop for teachers and educators interested in learning using the Games, and the curation of other projects is an important part of this process.

XtrayardXtrayard is an online platform that encourages young people to take part in physical activity and track it on a virtual route. To celebrate the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games they’ve re-created the Queen’s Baton Relay route, which will allow your learners to journey around the 70 nations and territories of the Commonwealth by taking part in physical activity and eating healthily.

Get Scotland DancingGet Scotland Dancing is a celebration of dance and an invitation for every person in Scotland to join in. As a Commonwealth Games Legacy programme, Get Scotland Dancing aims to get more people dancing in Scotland in 2014 than ever before. There’ll be a lot of different parts to the initiative as it develops, but broadly speaking they’ll be increasing opportunities to dance, promoting mass participation and developing young talent.

These are just the latest projects to be added to an already full programme, but Game On Scotland is a live programme and more materials will be added all the time – sign up to the network to make sure you’re the first to know about new opportunities.

Active, Educational resources, event, Games Legacy, Glasgow 2014, Inspire>Aspire, International Education, partnership

Game On Scotland Inverness Event: New date – 18 November 2013

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When? Monday, 18 November 2013,  9.30 – 15.00

Where? Drumossie Hotel, Inverness

With around 250 days before the biggest multi-sport and cultural event ever to come to Scotland, we invite practitioners to join us and find out more on how the Commonwealth Games may provide help you to create stimulating learning opportunities across the curriculum and beyond.

The event will showcase inspirational initiatives from schools across the board and highlight programmes available to teachers to ensuring that, together, we deliver a lasting legacy for learning. The keynote address will come from Paralymic champion David Smith MBE.  A variety of engaging workshops delivered by practitioners and organisations experienced in Games Legacy work will provide practical, hands-on exemplification on the impact of using the Games as a context for learning. Workshop sessions will include:

  • exemplification from primary and secondary schools,
  • inspirational address by people directly engaged with the Games and its legacy ,
  • international education and partnerships
  • Food for Thought Education Fund around the Commonwealth Games
  • cluster and local authority initiatives.

View the Game On Scotland Event draft programme – 18 Nov, Inverness

Who should attend?

Teachers, lead staff and those with a whole school responsibility for Games Legacy, including cluster initiatives and wider curriculum remits related to the Games (e.g. active schools coorindator, health and wellbeing).

How to register:

We invite you to join us for an inspirational day of sharing and collaborative thinking around a variety of exciting opportunities by registering for the event on line  or directly with Diane Carson: Diane.Carson@educationscotland.gov.uk

Educational resources, International Education, Literacy, Queen's Baton Relay

Take Part in “Authors Live: Storytelling Relay”

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Lari, Mara and Peter

When: Thursday 31 October at 11am (50 minutes)
Age: Primary 4-7 or 8-12 years
Where: your classroom, library, hall or computer at home!

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To celebrate the Queen’s Baton Relay setting off on its journey around the Commonwealth, Authors Live has brought together storytellers, Peter Chand, Lari Don and Mara Menzies (India, Scotland & Kenya) to share traditional tales from their homeland in this storytelling relay.

You can apply to be part of the audience, use the learning resources and even win prizes in a special draw. To find out more about the event, and to register, visit http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/node/111293.

The Sorytelling Relay will be streamed live on  www.bbc.co.uk/commonwealthclass and schools can email  commonwealthclass@bbc.co.uk for more information.

Authors Live is a collaboration between Scottish Book Trust and BBC Scotland Learning, funded by Creative Scotland.

International Education, International partnerships, Uncategorized

Commonwealth Class: BBC Online Debate, 27th June

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DEBATE TIME: Thursday, 27th of June from 1100-1300; Target age: 7 – 14

Join pupils around the world for the second Commonwealth Class debate.

How it works

In class, watch the film on the Commonwealth Class website about ‘school journeys‘. Talk about this in class and gather some opinions, examples and comments to share with pupils around the world.

Go back to the page at any time between 1100-1300 BST on Thursday, 27th of June to share and discuss your ideas by emailing them to commonwealthclass@bbc.co.uk

Commonwealth Class will publish pupils’ opinions on the site, allowing schools to respond and converse in real time.

The aim is to include as many contributions as possible.

About Commonwealth Class

Commonwealth Class is a special initiative that provides teaching resources, online debates and interactive activities for schools to mark the run-up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games. It celebrates the values of the Commonwealth and connects schools and young people as they learn about how to be active, responsible global citizens as part of the Commonwealth family.

The Commonwealth Class education pack is an exciting resource designed to teach young people about Commonwealth values such as rights and responsibilities, protection of the environment, respect for others and what people need to lead healthy lives free from poverty.

Produced by the British Council, the resource pack contains cross-curricular activities, short films and discussion guides with learning outcomes that link to key skills, curriculum subjects and Commonwealth values. Activities include what qualities you need to be a successful Commonwealth athlete, and an exploration of the route of the Queen’s Baton Relay which will visit all 71 countries and territories taking part in the 2014 games.

Get set for 2014 and download the British Council Commonwealth Class education pack today.

International Education, partnership

Commonwealth Class: BBC live debate

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DEBATE TIME: Thursday, 13th of June from 1100-1300;  Target age:  7 – 14

Join pupils around the world for the first ever Commonwealth Class debate.

How it works

In class, watch the film on the Commonwealth Class website about the ‘woman behind the fastest man alive‘.  Talk about this in class and gather some opinions, examples and comments to share with pupils around the world.

Go back to the page at any time between 1100-1300 BST on Thursday, 13th of June to share and discuss your ideas by emailing them to commonwealthclass@bbc.co.uk

Commonwealth Class will publish pupils’ opinions on the site, allowing schools to respond and converse in real time.

The aim is to include as many contributions as possible.

Educational resources, International Education, International partnerships, partnership

Join the “Commonwealth Class”

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The BBC, the British Council and the Commonwealth Secretariat have joined forces to bring you Commonwealth Class, an exciting new opportunity for schools.

Commonwealth Class is a special initiative that provides teaching resources, online debates and interactive activities for schools to mark the run-up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games. It celebrates the values of the Commonwealth and connects schools and young people as they learn about how to be active, responsible global citizens as part of the Commonwealth family.

The Commonwealth Class education pack is an exciting resource designed to teach young people about Commonwealth values such as rights and responsibilities, protection of the environment, respect for others and what people need to lead healthy lives free from poverty.
Produced by the British Council, the resource pack contains cross-curricular activities, short films and discussion guides with learning outcomes that link to key skills, curriculum subjects and Commonwealth values. Activities include what qualities you need to be a successful Commonwealth athlete, and an exploration of the route of the Queen’s Baton Relay which will visit all 71 countries and territories taking part in the 2014 games.

Get set for 2014 and download the British Council Commonwealth Class education pack today.

BBC online debates
Commonwealth Class partner, the BBC, is hosting a series of monthly online debates commencing this summer. The debates are intended to create a platform for schools in the UK and Commonwealth countries to teach and learn together.
The first debate in the series will take place on Thursday 13 June.
Visit Schools Online and sign up to Commonwealth Class for more resources and interactive activities that support lesson planning and teaching across the curriculum
And a week before the first debate you can visit the BBC’s Commonwealth Class website to find out how you can take part!