At a symposium held at St Benedict College Boys’ Secondary School, Kirkop, as part of the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms project, young student leaders drew up the following manifesto containing recommendations for the education authorities and heads of school of how the project’s ideals and ideas could be developed further.

Students’ voice

This was an integral theme in the project. The aim was to give students the opportunity to express themselves creatively, lead the project and contribute to school development. The students recommended:

• Active participation – open meetings with student councils should be held for all students to ensure school-wide active participation;

• More empowerment – student councils need to be trusted with more power and responsibility. The council should be able to voice students’ concerns at the council’s meeting;

• More respect – students must be given more respect and recognition when they raise important issues;

• A youth advisory board should be set up where students can comment on issues pertaining to their education.

Inclusion and diversity

These were overarching themes for all Connecting Classrooms work in Europe. They had to be at the heart of the students’ work in school partnerships and curriculum projects. The students recommended:

• Empowerment of students through drama, plays, team-building activities, and so forth;

• An anti-bullying group should be set up, comprised of both students and teachers;

• More opportunities are needed for low academic achievers – students who face difficulties in academic achievement should be provided with more hands-on options as part of the timetable such as arts, drama, sports and voluntary work;

• The students feel that mixed ability classes exclude those with learning difficulties. They think children with different abilities should be placed in different classes.

• Special software to support students with learning difficulties should be made easily available.

Global citizenship

One of the key aims of the project was to develop students’ knowledge, skills and understanding to equip them for life in a globalised world. The students recommended that:

• First connect locally: School timetables should allow social and cultural activities, leadership courses, and so forth. The school management should be supportive of these activities;

• Then connect internationally – once students know each other they can start connecting internationally. Ideally, they should be given the opportunity to meet peers in partner schools. This should be followed up with online debates and online interactive classes, video conferencing and social networking.

Community engagement

Young people need support to engage with their communities in meaningful and enriching ways. One of the aims of the project was to develop community cohesion and challenge prejudice in the community. The students recommended:

• That there should be more time for community service in students’ timetable;

• Inclusion of the community – members of the community should be included in school activities;

• Working in the community – students from Form 3 and 4 should have a job experience to engage more with the community.

Leadership in school

The support of senior leadership teams was essential to the implementation and sustainability of the project. The students recommended:

• More Personal and Social Development lessons – additional PSD lessons, which focus on leadership skills, should be added to the timetable;

• More extracurricular activities – there should be more informal and non-formal activities (live-ins, drama performances, talent shows, and so forth) that help to enhance students’ leadership skills. These would boost their self-confidence;

• Every student should participate in at least one extracurricular activity yearly;

• Students need more opportunities for public speaking;

• The chairperson of student councils should be given the opportunity to join the meetings with schools’ senior management team about the day-to-day running of the school;

• The students’ prefect’s system should be implemented in all schools with a prefect, sub-prefect and a helper. These students can help with discipline in school;

• Exchange programmes with foreign students would give students an opportunity to discover and develop our leadership qualities;

• The students feel that programmes such as Connecting Classrooms enhance their leadership qualities and should be offered to other students.

The manifesto is the work of the students and does not reflect the opinion of the British Council or the Ministry of Education.

The Connecting Classrooms project

Connecting Classrooms is a British Council project which was implemented in 20 countries across Europe from September 2010 to May 2013. In Malta, the project was run in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.

Nine Maltese Schools were involved in the project: St Aloysius’ College, Birkirkara, St Benedict College, Boys’ Secondary, Kirkop, St Edward’s College, Vittoriosa, St Elias College, Sta Venera, San Ġorġ Preca College, Girls’ Junior Lyceum, Blata l-Bajda, St Margaret College, Boys’ Secondary, Verdala, Maria Regina College, Girls’ Secondary, Mosta, Stella Maris College, Gżira, St Thomas More College, Girls’ Secondary School, Sta Lucia.

The project builds lasting partnerships between groups of schools in the UK and in over 60 countries around the world. The Maltese students worked with students from Cyprus, Ukraine and Wales, benefiting from the international dimension of this project.

Through these partnerships, the programme developed understanding and trust between young people in different societies, creating a safer and more connected world for the future.

The programme’s aim was to achieve culturally inclusive schools. It was designed in consultation with education bodies, practitioners and policy makers around the world.

Maltese students took part in training courses for young leaders focusing on diversity, teamwork and on preparing students for life in our globalised world.

A number of teachers and students had the opportunity to visit partner countries. Malta also hosted several international meetings.

www.britishcouncil.org/malta-education-connecting-classrooms.htm

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.