We are delighted to announce that there is a new partnership approach to supporting Newcastle school and college links with the region of Aragón in Spain.
Many schools in Newcastle have expressed interest in establishing links with Spain, partly because Spanish is increasingly taught as a Modern Foreign Language and also because of the benefits that international partnerships bring to the school community.
We already have a lot of interest from schools in Aragón, in both urban and rural settings, who are keen to establish partnerships with our schools. We are inviting schools and colleges, from primary to FE, to register interest in a Spanish partnership.
How to register interest
Schools and colleges are invited to express their interest using a partnership form which will then be shared with our education partners in Aragón to find a good match in their region.
The form asks for basic information:
- the type of school (Primary, Middle, Secondary or FE/College)
- contact details for the partnership
- student numbers and if they learn Spanish
- areas of interest in the curriculum for the partnership
- any other activities they are interested in collaborating on (e.g., sport, music, theatre, environment, culture and other themes)
- what type of opportunities the education establishment is interested in (online exchange, student visits in person, work experience or other opportunities)
Education partners will then be put in touch with each other to talk about how they will work together and begin building relationships between the schools or colleges, teachers and pupils. We can also provide support around how to develop partnerships and the types of activities schools can do together.
- Click here to download the partnership form
- Complete the form and send it to sarah.edgar@newcastle.gov.uk in the City Council’s School Effectiveness team.
Aragón
Located in north eastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to south): Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is the city of Zaragoza.
This partnership approach has been developed with the support of British Council and the Education department of Aragón.
Supporting links in other areas
We have strong education relations with Newcastle’s twin towns in France (Nancy) and Germany (Gelsenkirchen) and are actively supporting links with schools and colleges there. We can also support links with other parts of the world, depending on the school/colleges’ needs and ambitions.
Support for schools/colleges in Newcastle
Working with Newcastle City Council, we can offer a wide range of support to widen access to opportunities for schools, children and young people, not just in terms of international links, but also supporting language teaching and learning, as well as promoting intercultural awareness and connections.
Click here to download a summary of Supporting languages, international connections and intercultural experiences for educators in Newcastle, which is a summary of the full range of support on offer from International Newcastle and Newcastle City Council (School Effectiveness), as well as contact details and weblinks for more information.
On 28th September 2022, Newcastle and North-East schools participated in a workshop on developing and supporting successful international schools partnerships. The report of the event is available to download here.
The report:
- includes educators’ reflections on the purpose and impact of links, language learning and internationalism in schools
- shares information about the range of partnership opportunities and support available for international working
- guidance on how to form and sustain international links
- shares learning from practitioners about their experience of taking pupils abroad
- includes information about the Turing Scheme which funds pupil travel to partner schools abroad and the International School Award process