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.