What is twinning?
Your school forms a special link with a school overseas, a link which can enrich education and development for both schools.
You might want to link with a school nearby - even within the UK. You might want to link within Europe. You might want to go global and find a school in the Amazon basin, sub-Saharan Africa, or Outer Mongolia.
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The basics
Wherever you choose to link, there are some basics you will need to consider.
School twinning works when it is of mutual benefit. So, start by working out what you want to get out of it, and finding out the aims of your partner school. School linking works best when its firmly rooted in education. Perhaps your schools can take on a shared curriculum project together, or perhaps you will each help the other complete a different project (the UK school might have a geography or citizenship at the heart of their project; a school in South America might be looking for English Language learning). From the outset, try and be clear about what both schools hope to achieve through the link.
School links work best when there's a co-ordinator, and that person will need support from the Head. It takes commitment, it takes patience. Successful linking brings enormous benefits so make sure that everyone knows this is a golden opportunity. The more people in your school who buy in to the idea, the more successful you are likely to be.
Work out the basics. When are school holidays? What languages will you communicate in? How often do you expect to communicate? And if there are problems - talk about it with your twin school!
School twinning brings the world into your class room - it's a brilliant way to enhance the curriculum and development in both schools.
Why Twin?
Some of your views:
"The link with the school in South Africa has become part of the light of this place - It's changed the life of the school totally and the ripple effect of our link back in South Africa has been fantastic." It's seven years sinceClive Bush's school - Linton Village College, near Cambridge - twinned with Beopathutse School. Over the years, links have blossomed and grown with both staff and pupils visiting one another's schools.
Exchange visits cement the global connection and prove to be a strong motivating factor for related curriculum work. They also challenge preconceived ideas. "The sheer experience of being in a different culture changes your perception of the world, and changes the way you think about yourself.... It changes the way you talk about the world, do your job and relate to the children".
Jenny Brown, of Toot Hill Secondary School near Nottingham finds that their link connects children in her school to global issues. Receiving letters from their partner school, she's seen how "students have loved getting to know someone their own age in another country - (South Africa) They get to know an individual on a personal level, and they cease to be 'just another child' ". Jenny believes this has a positive knock on effect on racism.
School twinning offers many benefits. Whether it's professional development for staff or opportunities for school improvement, the international link enhances the curriculum across the board.
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