African alliance leads to connectivity in the classroom
Staff and pupils at Oban High School have been getting involved in some global learning with the help of two visiting head teachers from Malawi.
Jailos Mapeza, head of Mazozo Community Day Secondary School, and Joseph Moyo, head of Njuyu Community Day Secondary School, arrived in Oban on Saturday December 7 and flew back home on Sunday December 15.
The week-long trip was arranged through the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms programme and is part of a twinning partnership between the Malawian schools, OHS and Tiree High School.
Depute head teacher Lauren Morrison told us: ‘Oban High School formed links with the two schools back in 2017 when Iain Fulton, who is now a principal teacher of STEM and a British Council ambassador, and OHS RME teacher David Duncan travelled over there.
‘It was great that Jailos and Joseph could make the return visit through funding from Connecting Classrooms. It is really important that we understand how different education systems work worldwide with a view to working together to break down barriers and overcome the challenges to education worldwide.’
As well as discovering more about the school life of their African counterparts, Oban youngsters had the opportunity to discuss issues such as climate change, gender equality and how to achieve sustainable living.
While they were here the Malawian duo also visited Lochnell and Taynuilt primary schools and Tobermory High School, as well as some of the many beauty spots such as McCaig’s Tower, Dunstaffnage and Ganavan.