When Sound Affects got linked schools on the coast of the UK and Sri Lanka to exchange views, they chose to discuss flooding and climate change.

Tendring Technical College in Essex is linked with Janadhipathi Balika near Galle in southern Sri Lanka.

The schools are both close to the coast and students have had personal experience of flooding and extreme weather in recent years.

British and Sri Lankan students worked together on the project, by asking and answering questions which were recorded by Sound Affects. They then listened to audio of each others’ answers and experiences.

Janadhipathi Balika in Sri Lanka is very near the sea and has seen some dramatic flooding and heavy monsoons. The area was also hit by the tsunami in 2004.

Children in Essex wanted to know if the Sri Lankan students and their families had been affected.

Nearly all the students had lost friends and family. “My Aunt and her husband and youngest daughter died in the Tsunami,” one student explained.

"We found my aunt and her husband and youngest daughter’s bodies by the train station. They were on the train from Colombo when the Tsunami hit it. The older daughter was saved but she is in shock. It’s a great sadness for us when we see her."

Janadhipathi Balika has also been affected by flooding linked to climate change. It has been very noticeable in an area where the students’ parents are paddy farmers.

The students explained that an early monsoon and flooding has devastated crops and many farmers are struggling to make a living.

Students in Essex have also had experiences of flooding. One child’s house had been flooded in 2007. As they live close to the sea, coastal erosion was also a concern for the British students.

“One thing that shows the climate is changing is that the cliffs are constantly eroding and gradually falling into the sea," one student said.

"There’s one house right by the cliff and the garden is about a meter away from the edge of the cliff."

The schools also discussed what it was like to live on the coast. The Sri Lankan students wanted to hear about British student’s relationship with the sea.

"We are sea folk, and love the sea even thought it nearly destroyed us. Do you like the sea?" one student asked.

Students in the UK said that they did like living by the sea, although it was too polluted to swim in.

How did they do that?

The project was set up and the audio was recorded by Sound Affects, an organisation that links children across the globe and provides audio resources for classrooms.

The link between the schools was set up by Adopt Sri Lanka, which supports links between Sri Lankan and international schools.

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