Connecting with the global community

In 2007, Abingdon Preparatory School initiated a link with the Jimba Gede Primary School near Malindi on the east coast of Kenya. This was a new initiative for Abingdon Prep and, even though the two schools were very different, we had clear aims and hopes for what could be gained from the partnership.

Abingdon Prep enjoys some magnificent educational facilities, including 50 acres of lush, rural land in the heart of Oxfordshire.

Pupils, 250 boys, aged between four to 13, come to school mainly from the picturesque surrounding villages. They benefit from small classes of 18 with extensive resources for a wide range of subjects including IT, Art, PE, DT, Science and Music. Pupils enjoy a broad curriculum and are adept in their use of the latest information technology.

In contrast the Jimba Gede School has 1,250 pupils with about 65 pupils to a class and, at the time of writing, no electricity or running water.

So why is the link important?

At the heart of the initiative is a desire to develop within our boys an interest in, and knowledge and understanding of, life outside Oxfordshire.

There is a need to explore the differences that exist within the global community and to learn from them, sometimes to embrace and sometimes to challenge. In return we hope to provide some educational resources, contact, friendship and support.

Being clear on what you can and cannot provide for your partner school is important. We did not want to be over ambitious, or for our partner school to have unrealistic expectations. We could have chosen a school in another country whose pupils enjoyed Internet access and therefore had the ability to communicate with us on a regular basis. However, we came to the decision that the advantages this would have given were outweighed by the more obvious differences between Abingdon Prep and Jimba school. These have been instantly recognisable and challenging to our boys. We were fortunate that one of our parents knew of Jimba school and that it matched our criteria.

It is a large school, educationally ambitious, well run and one whose pupils enjoyed varied social backgrounds and wide educational prospects. They also enjoyed links to an Austrian group who had been helping them develop their infrastructure; two new classroom blocks had recently been completed. Nevertheless it was off the beaten track, without mains services and significantly lacking in educational resources.

We have been very fortunate, that the same parents who told us about the Jimba school, have also been generous in encouraging both teachers and pupils at Abingdon Prep to use their accommodation nearby. This has allowed us to visit the school and become acquainted with its teachers and pupils.

Clearly not everyone has been able to make the trip but all pupils and many parents at Abingdon Prep have become directly involved in the project and everyone enjoys regular updates about the partnership.

We have taken books to establish a library, set up notice boards, provided football kit and sent out numerous learning resources.

In our harvest festival this year, each of our boys brought in a toy or an example of working clothes. These were sent out to help the pupils and staff at Jimba with their English, the official language of education in Kenya, and in particular, their vocabulary.

One of the aims of the Jimba school is to extend their teaching longer into the afternoon. Pupils walk up to six km to school – for a 7am start – but no lunch can be provided. Our ‘pots for pots’ scheme, where pot plants were grown from seed at Abingdon Prep and sold as plants, raised money for the purchase of cooking pots, crockery and cutlery. Hopefully, with the kitchen — which is being built to replace the open fire — more of their pupils will be able to stay on after lunch in the near future.

Within the Kenyan education system, the pupils at Jimba perform to high standards. Every day, as they walk into school, they are reminded of their motto that, ‘Education is the Key for Life.’ The aims of education however, are different from country to country. At Abingdon Prep there is a desire not only to learn something but to understand it and then to be able to use it, or an appropriate derivative, at a later stage. In the Jimba school it is rare that education proceeds further than stage one — the learning of information. They do this extraordinarily well. The more able, older children know vast quantities of facts. When Abingdon Prep teachers have had the opportunity to teach the classes of 65 — or even 130 when year groups are placed together — we have often tried to teach skills which are not frequently used at Jimba.

Group work, discussion, games playing, taking turns, answering and even more importantly asking questions — what indeed constitutes a good open question?

Overall we have been fortunate and privileged to share some time with the pupils and staff of Jimba school. On occasions the cultural differences have been startling. One encounter which stands out was a lesson with 65 eight year olds learning to play games. The lesson was going well, with the Jimba teacher joining in and as always, smiling and laughing.

When pupils were given the instruction to close their eyes, some did not understand and failed to comply. Out came the thrashing stick — which seemed to promote understanding! Above all however, we have been charmed by the warmth, the hospitality and real desire by both staff and pupils at the Jimba school to make and to take every educational chance that is offered to them.

African art, music and literature have adorned and enhanced our School and communications between Jimba and Abingdon Prep pupils are increasing. More boys will have the opportunity to visit in the years to come and we very much hope that such visits will be reciprocated. It has been a tremendously worthwhile initiative. To any school that is thinking of doing the same, I would advise to choose your school carefully, manage expectations of both partners and to enjoy all that it brings.