An Exchange of well-being ideas and spaces

40 Birches Head Academy students have now travelled to Granada to work with our partner school, Escolapios Genil Granada mostly funded by the Turing Fund. From the 40 successful applicants, 20 were then partnered up with 20 Spanish students, with the aim of initiating a traditional exchange.

Exchange Fledglings

In March, some of our students went to stay with the Spanish families for the whole time of our visit to Spain, some found the confidence to stay for the weekend and the remainder stayed in a converted monastery attached to the school. All the students went into school for a few days and practised their Spanish.

During the Granada trips, students also visited several different locations to learn about Spanish culture through tours, dance, museums food and more.

Return visit to Stoke.

Before the Easter holiday, 20 Spanish students and 2 Spanish teachers came to stay in Stoke. Some stayed with their Stoke partner for the whole time, some for a weekend, whilst the others were hosted by members of staff, governors, and local families with connections to BHA. Careful checks were undertaken, and risk assessment were scrutinised. The organisation was a challenge but well worth the effort as the curiosity in participation has greatly risen.

When the students visited Stoke, they came into our school for a few days, visited Trentham Gardens, painted plates together at the Emma Bridgewater Factory, we visited the Stoke 6^th Form College to meet up with some of our former students and participated in various well-being workshops: art, pizza making and music at the B-Arts Studio, a combined and participatory arts organisation. During our celebration evening, our Year 11 band came to play for us.

Media Experience

Communicating our objectives with the wider community is an important part of the Turing Fund. One student, Dan Cartwright Year 10 and his Spanish partner, Alberto Ayala took part in a radio programme, BBC Radio Stoke, Eze on a Sunday Morning with Reverend Geoff. The 2022-2023 BHA Turing Project has been filmed by Junction 15 which hopes to capture the success of this trip.

The Spanish school sent a film that they made during the trip which you can enjoy if you scan this code.

Projects like these, support the intent to enrich the MFL curriculum by providing opportunities to correspond with speakers with link schools around the world, and to visit the country where the language is spoken to use the language and experience the culture.

Our relationship with our partner school in Granada will strengthen and this will help to raise aspirations for global travel and work with companies and sectors that embrace internationalism.

“It was great to see the confidence of the students grow in such a short period of time. Working with the students and teachers in the Spanish school gives language learning a real boost in our academy. We hope to make exchange visits an annual experience for all to take part in”.   Shirley Kliment-Temple.