Children in North Somerset already know a bit about South Africa after the Zakhele Drama Group toured schools in the area in 2009. This sparked a lot of interest in learning more about South Africa and the area that is home to the Zakhele Group.

That’s why Za got together with North Somerset Council to put in a bid to the British Council for funding to form partnerships between our schools and theirs. In September 2010 we heard that the bid was successful and by December, our first joint project was launched- a joint exhibition of children’s wishes on World AIDs Day.

The Global School Partnerships Programme is an initiative of the Department for International Development. Za Foundation and North Somerset put in a successful bid for a grant to support the school partnerships. The grant will enable staff from South Africa and North Somerset to get things started with a visit to the other country. The visits will take place in 2011 and will involve:

• Tours of local partner schools
• Learning about local education projects and ways of working
• Coming up with ideas for joint education projects between schools in both countries.

Each partnership will also be able to apply for separate funding to visit their partner school. This can be used to help develop joint learning projects.
Za Foundation will support the schools in North Somerset and Thembalethu, our charity partner, will support the schools in South Africa.

The Global School Partnership programme got off to a good start in February 2011 when a delegation from North Somerset Council visited the Nkomazi region. The delegates were Sue Walker from North Somerset Council, Julie Finlayson from Priory School and Kate Amor from Kingshill School along with Jayne Morris-Thurgood from Za Foundation. The British Council ran a workshop where all delegates and schools attended in order to learn more about the partnership. During the rest of the visit the delegates from the UK visited all 18 schools in the programme.

The Zakhele group are helping to cement the foundations of the Global School Partnership in the role they play in schools in the region. They are assisting the schools with technology to enable UK and SA schools to link up with each other. 18 schools across the Nkomazi are participating in this educational partnership.

List of Schools in the Scheme

Flax Bourton School		Sidlemu Primary
High Down Infants, Portishead		Schoemansdal Combined
St. Anne’s, Hewish		Kamaqhekeza Primary
St. Mary’s, Portbury		Zithulele Primary
West Leigh Infants, Backwell		Fairview Academy
Trinity School, Portishead		Sifundzekhaya Primary
Northleaze, Long Ashton		Sondlovu School
Court de Wyck,		Khulamshika Combined School
St Martins, Worle		Luvulwethu Primary
Priory School		Steenbok Secondary
Churchill School		Mjokwane Secondary
St. Katherines, Pill		Njeyeza Secondary
Meadowside Pre-school		Angels Pre-school Thembalethu
Kingshill Primary, Nailsea		Phambanisa Primary
Ravenswood		Silindokuhle Special School
The Downs School, Wraxall		Zamokuhle Combined
Trinity Toddler and twins group, Portishead		Komati children’s Care Centre Orlando