Wealden Times | WT175 | September 2016 | Education supplement inside

WT Education Supplement
Reach Out
From working hands-on in Africa, to swimming the Channel (in the school pool...)
three schools champion the educational value of community projects
Kent College, Canterbury
Community work - be it local or international - is a
vital component of the educational experience at Kent
College, Canterbury. The school is involved in a large
range of community projects both locally and overseas,
with our overseas work centred on a global School
Partnership with schools in Tanzania and Botswana.
This incredible piece of work sees teachers from five
different schools in three countries
sharing best practice and developing bits
of shared work – and it’s very important
that the work be seen as shared and not as
something that Kent College is doing for
the schools in Tanzania and Botswana.
Teachers have travelled to all
three countries and every two years
a group of students from the school
go on a life-changing trip to Tanzania which involves
meeting students they have contacted on Facebook,
getting involved in IT projects, doing work at a rural
primary school, and visiting an orphan feeding station,
as well as visiting a disability action project.
As well as these projects in Africa, Kent College is very
active doing work closer to home. The school works
“the pupils constantly
tell the staff how much
they get from this
work - it broadens
their horizons”
closely with the Kent Wildlife Trust, RSPB and Woodland
Trust to do invaluable woodland management and
coppicing at the ancient Blean Woods near the school.
The school has a very large (over 50 students)
and active Charities Committee which, as well as
raising around £20,000 a year for a range of local
good causes, works very hard at educating the school
community about the work of these groups.
A recent example is Porchlight which
shared its invaluable work on homelessness
with every student in the Senior school. The
link has grown so strong that the school
was delighted to host Porchlight’s annual
awards dinner and provided a fantastic meal
and venue for this tremendous charity.
The pupils constantly tell the staff how
much they get from these events and this
work. It broadens their horizons and opens their eyes to a
wide range of issues. It helps the pupils to realise the needs
of others and encourages them to use their gifts to help.
The trip to Tanzania in particular has been life
changing for a number of students - actually causing
them to change the direction of what they were
wanting to do when they leave school.
11 wealdentimes.co.uk