Case Study

Introduction

Founded in 1929, Levenshulme High School for Girls became Manchester’s first Specialist Language College in 1996. According to the January 2007 Ofsted report, 'the quality of teaching is good and enables students to make good progress overall'. The school has more than 900 students on roll with diverse ethnic backgrounds.

The project

Levenshulme High School and SAAD National School in Saudi Arabia work together in an international partnership. The project was launched in 2007 by the British Council to help bring teachers from the UK and teachers from the Middle East together to help young people, particularly the 11-14 year olds, develop informed and positive perceptions of each other’s cultures.

The partnership grew out of contact made at the first conference for Arabic language teachers held in London in 2006, which was attended by Levenshulme’s Arabic Language Teacher Mrs Inam Al-Ali. After a successful application, Levenshulme was among the first schools to be invited to attend a contact conference held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in March 2007. UK teachers met with Saudi-Arabian teachers and a partnership fair was established to display students’ work and other relevant information about the participating schools.

During the contact conference, all participants were working towards finding a partner school who would share the same objectives and commitment to achieving the goals. The project would last for three years.

SAAD National School for girls is a private school situated between Dammam, Dhahran and Khobar in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia and shared Levenshulme High Schools’ vision and there were early indications that both schools would be able to work effectively in a joint project.

How the work was planned

The planning process of the project started in Manchester and at the time, there were two possible projects ideas they felt they might be able to undertake jointly:

1. The Arabs in Spain in the Middle Ages and their role in transferring Muslim Civilization into Europe.
2. Women in business

Both partners felt that choosing the second proposal would fit with both schools educational aim and would generate enthusiasm among the school community both in Manchester and Al-Khuber, as both cities are industrial and commercial centres. When the seminar was concluded, both parties went back to put the project ideas into practice.

In Manchester, Levenshulme High School organised several meetings to incorporate the project into the school curriculum for the next coming year and to involve the citizenship and enterprise, business studies and the ICT department to enhance the second phase of the project.

At the same time, Al-khuber concentrated on gaining awareness of ‘Enterprise in the UK’ with particular focus on opportunities and how to set-up and run your own business. This was done in preparation for a further contribution for the second phase.

Successes

• The U.K teachers felt at ease and there were no communication problems as all Saudi delegates were fluent in English with many having lived or studied in the UK or the United States.
• There were several organised group visits by delegates to schools in the Riyadh area. Visitors were able to see the standard of teaching and learning in these schools and observe some lessons. UK teachers also witnessed the friendly and welcoming atmosphere from the Arab Teachers as well as students.
• The British council in Riyadh had organised and facilitated the conference supported by a good itinerary and programme of social events.

Challenges

• The participating Saudi schools were from the private sector. The seminar organisers acknowledged that participation from state schools was not possible due to communication problems.
• The authorities in the U.K were over cautious about security measures. Some of the U.K delegates, especially those from an Arabic background, wished to enjoy Riyadh and its popular souks at their leisure without having protective measures imposed on them.
• The teacher from SAAD National School was unable to participate in the study visit held in the UK after the contact conference. This was frustrating for the U.K partner, especially when they wanted to discus the project idea and formulate the action plan together. Communication was via emails.

What could have been done differently?

Different sources of funding could have been researched to allow the project to be undertaken as an extra curricular activity, and thus easing the burden on teachers who are required to teach to a tightly structured scheme of work.

Next steps

• Exchange visits for teachers and students.
• More collaboration to enhance the curriculum-creating more opportunities to learn from each other.
• Since the project is business orientated, Levenshulme would like to develop a business language course to be taught as a language component in a Business studies or Leisure & Tourism courses. This will create a new opportunity to increase the employability of our students.

Additional comments

International projects are effective tools to develop and expand the curriculum and create opportunities to learn from each other.

About the School