International Links
International Links and the Global Dimension
WCPS began international activity in 2006 winning a UK eTwinning award in 2007-8. Since then we have been awarded the ISA Full Award 3 times and have been involved in many eTwinning projects including winning National Awards in 2019 as part of Green Kids and Hands of the World projects. We participated in a 2 year Comenius Reggio partnership with Barcelona (2009-11) which was transformational at WCPS and led to extended links and many teacher visits for job shadowing/language training. Two Connecting Classroom projects with India
(2011-14) and Mexico (2014-16) were also important in the development of an internationally minded outlook.
Most recently the school was part of an Erasmus+ project with schools in Austria Greece Turkey and Spain entitled Let’s Go Cultural! which aimed to explore, preserve and celebrate culture. Originally planned to last two years, COVID 19 intervened and the project ran from 2019-2022 Themes explored during the project included tangible and intangible heritage, festivals, food and music.
You can find out more by following these links:
And these for some of the project outcomes:
- Christmas research video
- We’re going on a Bear Hunt in 5 languages and Makaton
- The Hungry Caterpillar in 5 languages
WCPS participates in Postcrossing and continues to find ways to make
links beyond the Erasmus+ project end.
Visitors comment on how our children have developed an international perspective, valuing our differences as well as the things that unite us. Diversity is regularly celebrated through whole school events as well as a programme of assemblies and focus days such as World Book Day (in 2022 we went Around the World in 80 books) as well as in the classroom where there has been a move over the last few years to ensure representation and inspiration is there for all our pupils, presenting ‘heroes’ from all walks of life, language, culture and race. Staff are adept at including a global perspective as well, referencing and integrating our project work into their day to day teaching as well.
We have been awarded the International School Award four times, most recently in 2022 in recognition of our outstanding work on the global dimension. The comments on the most recent submission included:
“There is no doubt that your pupils will have travelled a long way along the road to becoming global citizens as a result of the excellent opportunities that you have provided for them. You have also supported other schools and spread the word about how schools can integrate an international ethos into the curriculum without compromising core skills learning. Well done and good luck for all your future international work. "
WCPS has also been a Global learning Partnership Expert Centre, and continues to consider itself a globally minded school where the things that unite us are also the things that make us unique.
You can find out more by watching this video, made for an Open Day in 2020
or by looking at these links to previous projects.
Hands of the World – a project linking 30+ schools across the world who used Makaton to sing songs together
videos –
1 This is Me
2. A million dreams
3. I’d like to teach the world to sing
4 Dancing in the street
5. How far I’ll go
6 500 miles (teachers!)
How’s your Christmas? cards project