St Herbert’s in Keswick has been awarded Intermediate level of the British Council’s prestigious International School Award in recognition of its work to bring the world into the classroom.

The International School Award celebrates the achievements of schools that do exceptional work in international education. Fostering an international dimension in the curriculum is at the heart of the British Council’s work with schools, so that young people gain the cultural understanding and skills they need for life and work in today’s world.

St Herbert’s international work includes participation in the Global Teacher Award and training with CDEC (Cumbria Development Education Centre).  The school has also recently been involved with the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms Project.  This included being part of a local schools’ cluster group of teachers who visited and taught in primary schools in Moshi, Tanzania in February 2020.

On hearing the news that St Herbert’s had achieved Intermediate level of the award, class teacher Lucy Lake said: “We are very proud and excited that the beginning of our school’s global learning journey has been recognized and we very much look forward to future projects with our link school in Tanzania and further embedding the global aspect of our curriculum.

John Rolfe MBE, schools outreach manager at the British Council, said: “St Herbert’s international work has earned the school well-deserved recognition with the British Council International School Award - Intermediate Certificate.

“We are proud and delighted to work with this great school. Many thanks to everyone for all their commitment to developing international work and sharing excellent classroom practice and resources.

“This is enriching education for its pupils; and their excellent collaborative projects with partner schools overseas are bringing the world into their classrooms. International work is key support for the development of skills young people need to be the globally aware citizens of the future. 

“Embedding an international ethos across a school can lead to accreditation with our Full International School Award and schools looking to join this supporting and engaging global network should contact us at the British Council.” 

The award is now available worldwide in countries such as India, Greece, Egypt, Lebanon, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Around 6,000 International School Awards have been presented to successful schools in the UK since the scheme began in 1999.

The International School Award encourages and supports schools to develop:

  • An international ethos embedded throughout the school
  • A whole school approach to international work
  • Collaborative curriculum-based work with a number of partner schools
  • Year-round international activity
  • Involvement of the wider community

READ NEXT: London Science Museum inspires thousands of pupils in west Cumbria