John Hampden Primary School in Thame awarded British Council award

John Hampden Primary School in Thame has been awarded Foundation 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.

John Hampden Primary School’s international work includes termly communications with our twinned partner school in Montesson, France.

On hearing the news that John Hampden Primary School had achieved Foundation level of the award, Madame McRonald said: "We are thrilled to receive this accolade as it acknowledges the fact that the children and staff have been working hard at communicating together in our native languages and learning about each other’s cultures in a school environment over a period of time.

"This gives us great encouragement to carry on with our projects which have included a French market in the past, food sampling, book exchanges and caroling."

John Rolfe MBE, Schools Outreach Manager at the British Council, said: ‘John Hampden Primary School’s international work has earned the school well-deserved recognition with the British Council International School Award - Foundation Certificate.

We are delighted and proud that John Hampden Primary School is committed to developing a whole school approach to embedding and celebrating international work. The dedication from everyone is enriching education and supporting globally aware young people and the development of key skills.

We thank all involved in this important work; embedding a whole school international ethos across a school can lead to accreditation with the Full International School Award so please

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