international
Gordon’s School has always had an international flavour due to our many and varied overseas students. We also have a fascinating international history to draw on in the career and travels of General Gordon himself.
Therefore, it’s no surprise that Gordon’s has embraced the international spirit and embarked upon a partnership with the Commonwealth Education Trust to help reduce Learning Poverty across the Commonwealth.
Commonwealth education trust
Teachers at Gordon’s School are mentoring teachers across the world in lower income countries to support them and improve learning outcomes for the children in their schools. According to the World Bank, learning poverty affects over 250 million children around the world, limiting their life chances. It is estimated that up to 80 per cent of children in low income countries remain unable to read and understand simple text by the age of ten. Figures for 2024 show the Commonwealth Education Trust, which covers the Commonwealth’s 54 member countries, has reached over 35,000 teachers from more than 40 countries, benefitting over three million students.
The partnership with the Commonwealth Education Trust, established in April 2022, links nine Gordon’s teachers with teachers from partner schools in Zambia; Cameroon, Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas. They meet virtually, using the Trust’s Teach2030 course as a basis for their own areas of focus as their partnerships develop.
Gordon’s Assistant Head (Staff Development) Kelly Hurley said: “We are really excited about developing learning opportunities with the CET and our partner schools to help in reducing learning poverty. We hope to create meaningful relationships between our schools and teachers as well as developing our own teaching practice within this partnership.”
The video below explains how the partnership benefits both Gordon's teachers and those in the partner schools:
To learn more about Teach2030 and Gordon's involvement with the Trust follow the link below:
https://commonwealtheducationtrust.org/teach2030/
Foreign Exchange Programme
The German exchange started in June 2014 and has been going from strength to strength. We run it with the Lise-Meitner-Gymnasium in Königsbach-Stein in Baden-Württemberg after a former student contacted Mr Depoix about starting the programme after they completed a year as a Language Assistant in 2012-13. It is primarily for KS4 students but Sixth Form students are also welcome to take advantage of the fantastic opportunities the exchange programme provides.
Click here to see more photos from our German Exchange.