THE oldest school in Knutsford has won a prestigious honour for bringing the world into the classroom.
Egerton Primary School has received an International School Award for the fifth consecutive time.
Former head teacher Alison Hooper and the school’s global learning lead Stephanie Taylor-Wattam travelled to the Palace of Westminster in London on January 15 to receive the accolade from the British Council.
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Mrs Hooper said: “We were extremely proud to accept Egerton's fifth International School Award, confirmed in June and representing 15 years of excellence in global learning.
“This is in recognition of the school's commitment to ensuring the children are supported in developing skills such as critical thinking and problem solving when learning about their world.”
The school has formed a unique partnership with teachers and children in Africa.
Egerton has been working closely with a sister school of the same name in Kenya for 17 years.
The special link dates back to 1893 when Lord Wilbraham Egerton founded the school.
In 1939, 50 years later, his nephew Maurice, the last Lord Egerton of Tatton, founded Egerton Primary School on his estate in Njoro.
Pupils in both schools learn from each other about daily life in different parts of the world, which feeds into their global learning threaded through every subject.
Staff make reciprocal visits every two years to share teaching methods and ideas, as well as exchanging cultural insights and gifts.
A unique bond has developed between pupils 6,000 miles apart, thanks to joint creative projects, pen friends and shared assemblies through video links.
Various other lessons strengthen children’s knowledge of different countries.
Caroline Lowe, who became Egerton’s new head teacher in September last year, is very proud of the school’s international work and achievements.
She said: “This award is testament to the many aspects of global learning here at Egerton, especially our teaching of Spanish and embedding of children's rights and the UN sustainable development goals into the curriculum.”
The International School Award is a prestigious badge of honour and awarded by the British Council in recognition of a school’s international dimension to their teaching and learning.
Egerton was inspected in May 2023 and received the accreditation in June.
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