Stourport High

British Council International School Award success for Stourport High School

We are proud to be accredited as an International Gold Award School by the British Council. This is the highest accreditation you can receive and recognises the fantastic international work in which we are involved, instilling a global dimension into the learning experience of all our students.

We are very proud to have an international ethos embedded in the school and to be working successfully with our partners in several countries including China, France and Japan.  We strive to provide a learning experience that extends to the wider world and our continued involvement with our international school partners across the globe brings invaluable experience of other cultures, languages and histories. We are also able to facilitate study trips to these countries and also Germany, America, Holland, Jamaica and Switzerland.

Students are encouraged to participate in a variety of celebrations of language and culture, including the annual Festival of Languages and Sport, Post 16 MFL Conference and KS2 celebration day. Our outstanding faculty offers teacher training events, helping to make SHS a centre of excellence for MFL teaching. Additionally, we offer a range of extra-curricular and enrichment language courses which have included Japanese, Arabic, Russian, Polish and Dutch in recent years.  Our Specialist Leaders in Education provide outreach to other schools and professional development opportunities for visiting teachers.

Following a recent verification visit we are a Global Learning Programme (GLP) Expert School with effect from July 2016.

GLP is a Government-funded programme of support helping teachers to deliver effective teaching and learning about global issues at Key Stage 2 and 3. SHS will be part of a national network of schools committed to equipping students to make a positive contribution to a globalised world. We will lead continuous professional development (CPD) for staff both within our school and over 15 partner schools. Collaborative and supportive practices will equip young people to be enquiring, active global citizens who contribute to a more just and sustainable world.

Our aim is to immerse all students in the culture, language and history of different countries and to develop an appreciation of the world and the different people within it. To enable students to experience a visit abroad we have offered exciting and unique study visits to a variety of countries in recent years including China, Japan, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, USA, Jamaica and Switzerland.

John Rolfe, from the British Council, said: “The school’s fantastic international work has rightfully earned it this prestigious award. The International School Award is a great chance for schools to demonstrate the important work they’re doing to bring the world into their classrooms. Adding an international dimension to children’s education ensures that they are truly global citizens and helps prepare them for successful future careers in an increasingly global economy.”

The award is now available worldwide in countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Lebanon, Cyprus and Pakistan as part of the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms programme. Around 5,000 International School Awards have been presented to successful schools in the UK since the scheme began in 1999.

Benefits for students at SHS:

KNOWLEDGE: enabling students to understand the causes and effects of global poverty and uneven development. There are eight global themes: global poverty, development, rights and essential services, globalisation and interdependence, sustainable development, actions of governments, actions of citizens, business and technology.

SKILLS: allowing students to explore issues critically and examine the actions individuals and communities can take. There are eight skills: critical thinking, multiple perspectives, challenging perceptions, enquiry and discussion, communication, teamwork, planning, reflection and evaluation.

VALUES: exploring global issues. There are eight values: fairness, agency, care, self-esteem, diversity, respect, social justice and empathy.