Twins set to bridge the great divide

THERE are nearly 6,000 miles between them – but two schools on opposite sides of the world are determined to bridge the gap.
La Sainte Union in Highgate Road, Parliament Hill, is twinned with Colegio Damas in the Brazilian city of Recife on the country’s the eastern coast.
Staff from the
school flew to Brazil to gather tips and swap views on teaching –
and the pupils are following suit by learning about each ­other’s cultures.
For the past two years, the schools have been paired as participants of the Rivers of the World scheme, a project run in London by the Thames Festival and British Council.
Helped by professional artists, pupils were asked to create artwork on the “rivers” theme.
Recife pupils have also made a podcast and videos for their LSU counterparts, while a Year 8 class last year worked on a mural merging Brazilian images with more familiar London landmarks, including Big Ben and the Gherkin building.
The Camden students will learn about immigration and slavery in the Americas and in return send the Colegio Damas students information about the history of Britain’s docks and ports.
Geography classes at LSU will look at the impact of industrial­isation, globalisation and deforestation in Brazil.
And because of the current interest in vampire lore generated among teenagers by the 2008 romantic-fantasy film Twilight, teachers are even swapping stories about haunted London for tales of Brazilian mythical creatures and native legends.
Lucy Booker, the art teacher at the forefront of the project, hopes eventually to run extra-curricular activities with Brazilian cooking and music.
“It’s very exciting,” she said. “It’s such a huge thing to get off the ground.
“The idea of international citizenship is something that is becoming more important.
“By building up a meaningful relationship between children across the world, they can learn from each other.
“The students have really enjoyed it and learnt a lot.”
Kate Ford, programme manager for the Thames Festival, said the Rivers of the World project aimed to promote global citizenship and embed the relationship.
“It’s great when schools push that and manage to get the pupils involved,” she said.
JENNIFER LIPMAN