Urban China links with village school
The Whitsun break is becoming a popular time for school staff to build links with schools abroad – and some go further than others.
Jim McManners, headteacher of the 2007 DCSF Sustainable School of the Year, travelled from Cassop, his 110-pupil village primary in County Durham, to the 1,200-pupil Xixiang Number 2 School at Shenzhen, a city of 10 million people. It was his second visit.
Everything is on a massive scale,' said Jim whose commitment to sustainability feeds his interest in urban China. 'The Friday morning assembly was spectacular, with all the children doing exercises in unison and marching. When I gave a lesson in front of 100 parents the children lined up afterwards for my autograph!'
Last month Cassop's international reputation grew with the opening, by Government minister Kevin Brennan MP, of an environmental laboratory. The new lab has two wind tunnels in which children from visiting schools can demonstrate turbines they have designed and made. Cassop's Victorian school site has a wind turbine and solar panels which export electricity to the National Grid.
'The Government's aim is for every school to be a sustainable school by 2020,' said Mr Brennan. 'I'd like to thank Cassop Primary School for leading the way and setting such an excellent example for everyone to aspire to.'
