An independent day and boarding school in Cambridgeshire has achieved reaccreditation of the British Council’s International School Award.
King’s Ely first received the award, which lasts for three years, in 2012. The award celebrates schools that include international work in their curriculum, such as through links with partner schools overseas, and embed an international ethos within the school culture.
King’s Ely has continued to work on Erasmus+ project, The Village, throughout the pandemic. The two-year project involves King’s Ely students and pupils at two of its partner schools, IES Andrés Vandelvira in Albacete, Spain and College Chaloupe Saint-Leu in La Reunion, France.
The pupils work together to explore the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations through the creation of a unique virtual city, while developing cultural awareness and social interaction to create a real context to enhance their language skills.
In February, Year 9 students involved in the project were meant to travel to Albacete to carry out their first mobility activities, but instead all three schools organised and carried out a virtual mobility experience instead, using Google Meet and breakout rooms to communicate.
Once travel restrictions have been lifted, exchange trips will be planned for students and staff involved in The Village project, enabling participants to meet each other, work together and learn more about each other’s languages and cultures.
Approving King’s Ely’s reaccreditation this month, a British Council spokesperson said: “All the sections of your Impact Evaluation, including the Impact and Ambassadorial sections, describe a school which is committed to embedding a global dimension into its curriculum and international work with its many partner schools abroad.
“Despite the challenges of Covid, King’s Ely has found creative and innovative ways in which to engage pupils in global work and projects, in school or at home, mainly through an increase in the use of various forms of technology.”
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