Page 12 - Education Supp February 2022 Digital

Educating Beyond Borders at

Brescia House School

Under the banner of Education Beyond Borders,
Brescia House School has partnered with schools in
our global Ursuline network, to take our pupils into
classrooms and educational spaces all over the world.
Graham West; Deputy Head: High School

everaging our well-established Global Exchange Programme, in May and June last
year, our Grade 11s partnered with The Ursuline School in New Rochelle, New York
Lon a project entitled ‘Reaching for Global Equality & Equity’.
Substituting technology for passports, pupils worked in interdependent groups
comprising pupils from both schools and had to navigate the challenges of time zones,
differing opinions and technology together. The project was interdisciplinary and groups
had to research, and then compare, inequality in Johannesburg with New Rochelle, New
York. Each group focused on a specific aspect of inequality such as housing, education,
healthcare, transport and economic opportunity.
Groups created a combined video presentation comparing the situation in the two
cities, assessing its origins and consequences, and recommending possible solutions. It
was evident that the pupils learned a great deal from this global experience.

Here are some of their comments: Names, directions and distances to some of the Ursuline schools
with which Brescia House School has an ongoing relationship.
“It was interesting to interact with girls our age from a completely different location, future, our pupils are going to need better innovation,
while getting to learn the inequalities in other areas as well.”
critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration skills.
“I think we had great conversations and were able to connect through topics beyond Development of these future skills, through experiential
the formal curriculum, which was also very valuable.” learning, is central to the idea of our Education Beyond
“This exchange was valuable as it was so interesting to get to know a group of girls Borders programme, which is not just about transcending
from a whole different country and continent. It was so interesting that we had so physical borders using technology, but transcending the
much in common even though we had never met each other before.” borders of traditional education.
The value of the programme is evident in the
This project is one example of a number of Education Beyond Borders projects that experience gained from working on a real-world
Brescia House School implemented last year. The aim of the programme is to leverage problem, and making decisions together, in an
the familiarity with online communication and collaboration technology in order to international cross-cultural team. Whilst the project
expose our pupils to not only different thinking and viewpoints, but to prepare them for might guide pupils in a formal way, there is also
the future of the working world. significant learning that takes place from the informal
COVID-19 has accelerated workplace trends in automation and digitisation. The post- conversations and sharing of information between
pandemic geography of work is likely to permanently change with flexible workspaces, pupils of the same age. Social connections have been
virtual meetings and remote work here to stay. COVID-19 has also accelerated the need established between pupils that have lasted beyond
st
for developing 21 century skills and, in order to thrive in the uncertain world of the these formal projects.
Whilst we have a well-established physical exchange
programme, Education Beyond Borders opens the
opportunity for all pupils to engage and work directly
with their peers in overseas schools. The Ursuline
schools network includes schools on all continents and
Brescia House School has historic relationships with
schools in the USA, Europe and Australia. The Education
Beyond Borders programme, however, also opens up
collaboration opportunities with Ursuline schools in
countries such as Senegal, Brazil and Indonesia.
Through engaging in collaborative, cross-cultural
workspaces across the world, we are exposing our
pupils to different thinking and different perspectives
on global issues. This not only helps prepare our
pupils for the future of work but is also important in
developing them into responsible global citizens.

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