Wednesday 16 November 2011
Human Rights Council visits Stanmore College
John Ellis from the Refugee Council UK visited Stanmore College on the 14th November. He spoke to CoPE and BTEC Performing arts Students about the plight of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the UK.
Monday 14 November 2011
David Ellis from the Refugee Council Visits Stanmore College
David Ellis from the Refugee Council, UK came to speak to CoPE and Performing Arts Students at Stanmore College. David spoke about the plight of Refugees and and Asylum seekers in the UK and around the world. The Performing Arts students are currently developing a Theatre in Education piece exploring Asylum and Human Trafficking. The Cope Students will be running a "Refutea" fundraising event on 16th November at Stanmore College. This event will attempt to raise funds for the Refugee Council.
Tuesday 23 August 2011
Monday 22 August 2011
Friday 15 July 2011
Interview on the project with the India Express July 11, 2011
An outsider's perspective
A British teacher learns about teaching methods and the abilities of students at Rajagiri Public school, and compares them with his students
By Shevlin Sebastian
At a presentation by a group of Class nine students of Rajagiri Public school, Kochi, Eugene Collins, a teacher of Stanmore College in London was taken aback by how articulate the students were. “It was remarkable,” he says. The students spoke about the recent Arab uprising, and the situation in Burma. “I was impressed by the level of research that they had undertaken,” he says. “The presentation style was very effective.”
Collins wants his students in London to have the same interest in international issues. “They find it difficult to think about life outside of London,” he says. “One of my aims is to expand their understanding of the world.”
Collins is in Kochi as part of the Global School Partnerships programme, funded by the UK Aid from the Department for International Development. The project enables teachers and students in the United Kingdom to learn about global issues, in partnership with schools in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia.
In India, the Rajagiri Public School has been selected. But it is an exploratory trip for Collins, who is working closely with English teachers, Ruby Antony and Parimal Paul, on how to set up a viable programme.
“The initial aim is to develop an international ethos among the students in London and Kochi,” says Ruby. “We felt that human rights can be a common subject.”
The students in London will be working with refugees who come to Britain. They include people from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia. “The youngsters will befriend a refugee who is of a similar age and help them to access educational facilities and social welfare,” says Collins.
In Kochi, Ruby will enable her students to focus on gender issues, poverty, and the caste system. “Later, a student exchange programme will take place,” she says. “The aim is to break down the misconceptions among the Indians and the British.”
Some of the misconceptions are on expected lines. “My students, a mix of Indians, West Indians and whites, know about Bollywood,” says Collins. “They have seen the film, 'Slumdog Millionaire'. Not surprisingly, their impression of India is that it is a poor and backward country. I want to make them understand that India is a growing economic power and progressing very rapidly.”
Meanwhile, students in Rajagiri think that London is a big and developed city with shiny buildings. “The reality is that there is terrible poverty in London,” says Collins. “Our city is not just about the royal family or the Buckingham Palace. The economy is in bad shape, so life can be tough for many people."
Meanwhile, as Collins wandered around the Rajagiri campus, interacting with teachers and students, he noticed that the teaching styles were different. “In India the relationship between the student and the teacher is very formal,” he says. “The teacher talks and the students listen. In my school, it is much more interactive."
(The New Indian Express, Kerala)
By Shevlin Sebastian
At a presentation by a group of Class nine students of Rajagiri Public school, Kochi, Eugene Collins, a teacher of Stanmore College in London was taken aback by how articulate the students were. “It was remarkable,” he says. The students spoke about the recent Arab uprising, and the situation in Burma. “I was impressed by the level of research that they had undertaken,” he says. “The presentation style was very effective.”
Collins wants his students in London to have the same interest in international issues. “They find it difficult to think about life outside of London,” he says. “One of my aims is to expand their understanding of the world.”
Collins is in Kochi as part of the Global School Partnerships programme, funded by the UK Aid from the Department for International Development. The project enables teachers and students in the United Kingdom to learn about global issues, in partnership with schools in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia.
In India, the Rajagiri Public School has been selected. But it is an exploratory trip for Collins, who is working closely with English teachers, Ruby Antony and Parimal Paul, on how to set up a viable programme.
“The initial aim is to develop an international ethos among the students in London and Kochi,” says Ruby. “We felt that human rights can be a common subject.”
The students in London will be working with refugees who come to Britain. They include people from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia. “The youngsters will befriend a refugee who is of a similar age and help them to access educational facilities and social welfare,” says Collins.
In Kochi, Ruby will enable her students to focus on gender issues, poverty, and the caste system. “Later, a student exchange programme will take place,” she says. “The aim is to break down the misconceptions among the Indians and the British.”
Some of the misconceptions are on expected lines. “My students, a mix of Indians, West Indians and whites, know about Bollywood,” says Collins. “They have seen the film, 'Slumdog Millionaire'. Not surprisingly, their impression of India is that it is a poor and backward country. I want to make them understand that India is a growing economic power and progressing very rapidly.”
Meanwhile, students in Rajagiri think that London is a big and developed city with shiny buildings. “The reality is that there is terrible poverty in London,” says Collins. “Our city is not just about the royal family or the Buckingham Palace. The economy is in bad shape, so life can be tough for many people."
Meanwhile, as Collins wandered around the Rajagiri campus, interacting with teachers and students, he noticed that the teaching styles were different. “In India the relationship between the student and the teacher is very formal,” he says. “The teacher talks and the students listen. In my school, it is much more interactive."
(The New Indian Express, Kerala)
Friday 24 June 2011
Press release for the launch of the Stanmore College and Rajagiri Public School Project.
Press release in the Harrow Observer.
I managed to get our project covered in the Harrow Observer, London. This article marks the launch of Stanmore’s partnership with the Rajagiri Public School, India. This project is exploring Human rights infringements that occur in Kerala and London.
Thursday 9 June 2011
Press release for the launch of the Stanmore College and Rajagiri Public School Project.
9/6/11
Stanmore College LINKs with Rajagiri Public School, India to learn about global issues
Teachers and students from Stanmore College, London, are working with Rajagiri Public School in India as part of a government-funded education initiative to widen young people’s knowledge of the world around them. The Global School Partnerships programme, funded by UKaid from the Department for International Development, supports teachers and students from the UK to learn about global issues, together with partners in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
With the support of the principal, Jacqui Mace, Stanmore College’s IB CAS coordinator Eugene Collins is leading on a project to develop a sustainable relationship with the Rajagiri Public School, Kerala, India. Eugene said “Stanmore College and the Rajagiri Public School hope to foster a relationship between the two schools that will benefit students in both countries. The key aims of the project are to promote international understanding and expand the horizons of learning beyond geographical limits and to uphold a commitment to traditional values, human rights, social justice and gender equality. Students in both countries will be exploring human rights infringements in both countries in an attempt to raise awareness of their importance.”
Ruby Anthony of the Rajagiri Public School, Cochin, India stated that “the project hopes to
forge a friendship with the UK school and expand the horizons of learning.
We hope to give students a forum to voice their concern on issues like human rights, social justice and gender equality. Students will involve themselves in community development projects which are inbuilt in the curriculum in collaboration with Stanmore. There is a strong desire to clear misconceptions about India as a poor country divided on caste and religious lines.”
forge a friendship with the UK school and expand the horizons of learning.
We hope to give students a forum to voice their concern on issues like human rights, social justice and gender equality. Students will involve themselves in community development projects which are inbuilt in the curriculum in collaboration with Stanmore. There is a strong desire to clear misconceptions about India as a poor country divided on caste and religious lines.”
The partnership will enable the schools to take part in reciprocal visits and work on joint classroom-based projects, with the aim of developing young peoples’ commitment to a fairer, more sustainable world. Students will be working with human rights organisations in both countries and exchanging in information via skype, email, and blogs.
The scheme offers participating schools grants and support to fund visits to their partner schools and develop joint project activities. Teachers involved can attend professional development workshops to help them make the most of the partnerships within the school and the local community. They can also gain accreditation for their Global School Partnerships work.
- ENDS -
For further information about Stanmore College, please contact Rebecca Halpin, Marketing Department, 020 8420 7888 or email r.halpin@stanmore.ac.uk.
For more information about Global School
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