Sharing education enjoying differences in local schools

The combined bid has secured funding of 212,000 over a three year period, provided by the "Sharing Education Programme".

This programme is funded by the International Fund for Ireland and the Atlantic Philanthropies. The primary aim of the programme is to encourage schools to make cross-sectoral collaboration an integral part of school life creating enhanced educational and personal development opportunities for everyone involved.

Mr. Tom Skelton, Headmaster commented: "As the lead school in the project we are delighted to secure the funding which is vital to help develop our ambitious plans. The team of teachers that devised the bid was drawn from our partner schools at primary and post primary levels. It represents months of work, planning and formulating the bid. We had our official launch of the programme on Wednesday and all involved are equally pleased with our joint success. The title of our project is "Sharing Education, Enjoying Difference" which aptly sums up the primary aim of the partnership.

There are a total of seven different strands in the project. Three of the strands will be delivered at Key Stage Two. These consist of a "Building Bridges" activity, a "Fit for Life" activity and a local history project. A newly appointed Project Officer will co-ordinate these activities in partnership with designated staff from partner schools Ballymoney Model, Leaney, St. Brigid's, Sandelford and Dalriada. A key feature of the project is that pupils will work together in mixed groups promoting mutual respect, tolerance and shared understanding.

At key stages three and four, a further three strands will be shared by Our Lady of Lourdes School and Dalriada. These strands consist of a joint dance project and a "Movie Maker" joint video production. The two schools will also collaborate to deliver a joint GCSE course in ICT making use of the latest videoconferencing teaching techniques in addition to normal classroom delivery.

The final strand of the programme involves a joint Sixth Form on-line creative writing project shared between Dominican College, Portstewart and Dalriada.

A key element of the project will be events to celebrate success and to showcase the work of the pupils in their joint activities. These events will provide opportunities for governors, staff, parents and pupils from different cultural traditions to share in the success of the various activities. It will also provide a firm foundation from which to build further collaboration at all levels between the partner schools.