International Links
International School Award
Over the last four years, Crawshaw has been developing international links with schools and charities abroad. The focus of this work has been primarily in India, where Crawshaw has been working in partnership with the Gurdut Anglo Vedic (GAV) School Himachal Pradesh, Northern India. The link came about through contacts that Mr Smyth, International School Coordinator, made when travelling independently and which were formalised through the Global Schools Partnership Programme, a government funded education initiative which aims to widen young people's knowledge of the world around them. Funded by UKaid from the Department for International Development, the scheme supports teachers and students from UK to learn about global issues, together with partners in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. The work done over the last few years have resulted in Crawshaw being awarded the Intermediate stage of the International Schools award In July 2011.
Crawshaw's links with the GAV school have led to four exchange visits between the schools. Two delegations of staff have now visited India as a result and we have welcomed two Indian delegations by return. Our Indian visitors have been given a real taste of life at Crawshaw, in Leeds and beyond, enjoying a range of traditional activities including visits to Elland Road, a Bradford Bulls Match, Leeds City Centre, York Minster, Whitby, and Robin Hoods Bay. All of this is in addition to considerable involvement in every day school life; observing and teaching lessons in a range of subjects. By return, Crawshaw staff have enjoyed a warm welcome in India, experiencing a very different way of life both in and outside of school.
The visits and activities resulting from this global partnership have attracted local press coverage and seen the school become an innovator in promoting it's humanities ethos.
2012 will see the next stage of the partnership come to fruition. On his last visit to India, Mr Smyth spent time focusing on planning for a group of Crawshaw international student ambassadors to travel to GAV School during the Easter break 2012. This will be the first visit of its kind since the partnership began. Inaddition, plans are in place for joiont curriculum projects in subjects including English, Citizenship, Art, RE, ICT, Food Technology and Maths.
International charity work - Tong Len
Crawshaw has a number of nominated charities, one of which is an international charity, the Tong Len Charitable Trust. Crawshaw has built links with the UK arm of the Trust, Tong Len UK, and has donated over £7,000 to the charity over the last 6 years. The charity works with destitute children in Dharamsala and aims to give them care and education. This link has again been championed by Mr Smyth who was recently invited to attend the opening ceremony for one of Tong Len's most recent developments, a hostel built to house some of the most impoverished and vulnerable children in the area. To read a full story about the event, see our news page or see the press coverage here.
