Ysgol Dinas Brân yn derbyn Gwobr Ysgolion Rhyngwladol y British Council am eu prosiect Taith

Ysgol Dinas Brân have received the Accreditation level of the British Council International School Award (ISA), which is the highest level of the award in recognition for their outstanding work and success with their international curriculum.

This award was directly linked to their Taith project, which saw pupils partner with schools in Turkey, Germany and Estonia to explore the increasing pressures young people feel in today’s society.  The project provided an opportunity for pupils from Ysgol Dinas Brân and their partner schools to explore ways in which schools could provide additional and more effective support for pupils who might be struggling with anxiety or other mental health issues.

To achieve Accreditation level, Ysgol Dinas Brân needed to evidence that an international ethos is firmly embedded within the school’s curriculum, which their Taith project allowed them to do.  Andy Wallis, International Coordinator at Ysgol Dinas Brân, said

The Taith project was front and centre to our successful application, as the activities in the project with our international partner schools fulfilled many of the key criteria of the ISA, such as providing a cultural exchange and language learning opportunities, involving at least three activities with our international partner schools. To put it simply, without the Taith programme we would not have been able to fulfil the requirements to win the British Council International School Award.

The value of international partnerships and the benefits they can bring have been recognised by Ysgol Dinas Brân

The opportunity to go on an exchange to live with a family, to go to a partner school is an ‘Alice through the looking glass’ sliding doors moment, which fundamentally changes the way our students view not only the world, but also their place within it. This personal growth is simply impossible without the human connection that these international exchanges bring to students, who have in some cases never been on a plane or had use for a passport. The barriers such as social-economic background which hold back students’ development, and limit their life opportunities, are broken down due to the funded nature of the Taith programme. In short, you are changing lives forever.

As a result of receiving this award, Andy Wallis attended an awards ceremony at the Houses of Parliament, along with their local MP Becky Gittens. The ceremony included members of the government along with MP’s from opposition parties, showing that it had cross-party support. Ysgol Dinas Brân were the only Welsh school to receive the Accreditation level and therefore the only Welsh representative at the ceremony.

For me as the International Coordinator for the school, it was personally and professionally a very proud moment, it was validation about the role and importance of the international aspect to the school curriculum and a huge honour not just for me but all the students and the school that we have received this award.

Since receiving the award, the school has had visits from Ken Skates MS and Becky Gittens MP, highlighting the prestigious nature of the British Council International School Award

The fact that Ysgol Dinas Brân was the only school in Wales to receive this level of the award is something to be very proud about not just to those involved, but also to the school and the whole community. We are proud ambassadors of the international ethos and this award only reinforces our commitment to an international education.

News