Pictured: Leibniz Gymnasium pupils and staff at the civic welcome by Lord Mayor Cllr Veronica Dunn. Credit: Steve Brock photographer
We were delighted to host the visit of Leibniz Gymnasium, a secondary school from our twin town of Gelsenkirchen, on 16th August. 99 pupils and 8 staff, lead by Head Teacher, Michael Scharnowski visited the city as part of their tour of England. They had a civic welcome, a walking tour of the city and we also explored youth drama links for young people from both cities.
Newcastle’s Lord Mayor, Cllr Veronica Dunn, gave a warm welcome to the visitors at the Civic Centre and presented a plaque and picture of the Civic Centre to the school, as well as lapel pins for all of the children and received gifts from Gelsenkirchen. She highlighted the important relationship between our two cities, which celebrate the 75th anniversary of their twinning this year and have a shared industrial history. She also stressed the importance of young people connecting internationally and experiencing other places as key life experiences.
Click here to see a short video of the group at the Civic Centre and St James’ Park.
Pictured: Head Teacher, Michael Scharnowski, Lord Mayor of Newcastle Cllr Veronica Dunn, Honorary Consul for Germany in Newcastle, Manuela Wendler and Newcastle Councillor and member of International Newcastle’s Board, Cllr Mehrban Sadiq (Credit: Steve Brock)
Newcastle’s Lord Mayor speaks to the pupils of Leibniz Academy and outlines the special relationship of Newcastle and Gelsenkirchen in the 75th anniversary year of our twin town relationship and the importance of young people connecting internationally for the future of society. (Credit: Steve Brock)
Declan Baharini (International Newcastle), Sarah Edgar (Newcastle City Council, School Effectiveness), Manuela Wendler (Honorary Consul for Germany in Newcastle), Laura Teasdale (Newcastle City Council) and Etania and Eliannah Imarhiagbe, young people from Newcastle City Council’s Youth Voice group, then took the group on a tour of the city. They visited St James’ Park, had lunch at Eldon Green, did a tour of Grainger Town and visited the Cathedral and the Castle, before ending the tour at the Quayside to see the river, bridges and the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art. The group went to visit the Angel of the North on their way to York.
“Our twin town relationship with Gelsenkirchen is both long standing and special. It was a pleasure to meet the teachers and so many young people from Gelsenkirchen and show them our city. I look forward to supporting many more links between our cities in the future.”
Declan Baharini, Director, International Newcastle
Paul James and Helen Green from Live Youth Theatre in Newcastle, meeting with Michael Scharnowski and Tameer from Leibniz Gymnasium
Developing a youth theatre link
During the visit, Head Teacher Michael Scharnowski and one of his youth drama pupils, Tameer, also met with Live Youth theatre representatives: Children and Young People’s Programme Leader, Helen Green, and Senior Creative Associate Children and Young People, Paul James.
International Newcastle brokered discussions in advance online to explore links between Live Youth Theatre and Leibniz Gymnasium youth drama groups. The visit enabled them to have a more in depth discussion around practicalities and planning. We will be supporting them to explore exchange and funding opportunities, which will hopefully include Gelsenkirchen drama pupils attending and performing at Live Theatre’s youth theatre showcase in March 2024 and Live Youth Theatre attending and performing at Gelsenkirchen’s International Youth Drama Festival in September 2024.
Support for education links with Gelsenkirchen
With Newcastle City Council (School Effectiveness), we are keen to support more links with our twin town. Find out more about our support for schools and colleges with Gelsenkirchen here and do get in touch if you are a school interested in a link. We also support connections with other parts of Europe and the world and you can find out more here.
We have supported a new school partnership between English Martyrs Catholic Primary school in Newcastle and Rainbow school in Gelsenkirchen, who are both involved in the twinning celebrations this year. Pupils and staff have had online meetings and have been involved in a joint art project focussing on themes of friendship and teamwork and have produced art works expressing feelings of welcome and sharing local landmarks and symbols of each city. We have supported the school to access funding from UK German Connection to fund staff from English Martyrs to attend the twinning celebrations in Gelsenkirchen in September and visit Rainbow School to develop their partnership. We will also support both schools to access funding for a pupil exchange in 2024.