Pilton Bluecoat Academy, Barnstaple has been awarded Intermediate level of the British Council’s prestigious International School Award in recognition of its work to bring the world into the classroom.

The International School Award celebrates the achievements of schools that do exceptional work in international education. Fostering an international dimension in the curriculum is at the heart of the British Council’s work with schools, so that young people gain the cultural understanding and skills they need for life and work in today’s world.

Pilton Bluecoat Academy’s international work includes developing curriculum based activities linked to UNICEF’s Sustainable Development Goals with schools in Uganda and India. Along with this, the staff have engaged in professional development activities focused on the development of children’s thinking skills. Staff members have visited each other’s schools sharing educational experiences and completing planning activities for the future. Ian Thomas, CEO of TEAM Multi Academy Trust, highlighted that: ‘We are extremely proud of Pilton Bluecoat’s achievements. As a Trust we are committed to ensuring that the children within our care get access to a high quality global curriculum and are well prepared for the future. It has been lovely to see that despite the Covid-19 interruptions the children and staff are still working on British Council related activities and collaborating through the use of Google Classrooms.’

 

On hearing the news that Pilton Bluecoat Academy had achieved Intermediate level of the award, Head of school, Dan Polak said: Pilton Bluecoat has a proud tradition of reaching out to different countries and cultures and ensuring that global partnerships enrich the

education of our children. The staff a rightly thrilled to receive this recognition of the international work we have been engaged with, which gives us all an opportunity to connect with a world beyond our own. We love North Devon and all it has to offer; while this partnership gives us the chance to learn, it also gives us the chance to share what we are so very proud of.

 

John Rolfe MBE, Schools Outreach Manager at the British Council, said: ‘Pilton Bluecoat Academy’ international work has earned the school well-deserved recognition with the British Council International School Award - Intermediate Certificate.

 

We are proud and delighted to work with this great school. Many thanks to everyone for all their commitment to developing international work and sharing excellent classroom practice and resources. This is enriching education for its pupils; and their excellent collaborative projects with partner schools overseas are bringing the world into their classrooms. International work is key support for the development of skills young people need to be the globally aware citizens of the future.

 

Embedding an international ethos across a school can lead to accreditation with our Full International School Award and schools looking to join this supporting and engaging global network should contact us at the British Council”.

 

The award is now available worldwide in countries such as India, Greece, Egypt, Lebanon, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Around 6,000 International School Awards have been presented to successful schools in the UK since the scheme began in 1999.

 

The International School Award encourages and supports schools to develop:

 

· An international ethos embedded throughout the school

· A whole school approach to international work

· Collaborative curriculum-based work with a number of partner schools

· Year-round international activity

· Involvement of the wider community