We Have Successfully Retained Our International School Award!

We are delighted to announce that we have successfully retained our International School Award, recognising our commitment to developing global awareness, cultural understanding and international collaboration across our school.

This is the second time we have achieved this prestigious award, building on our previous accreditation from 2022–2025. Retaining the award reflects the wide range of international opportunities we provide for our pupils and our commitment to preparing them to become responsible global citizens.

Throughout the year, pupils have taken part in a variety of exciting international experiences, including:

• Celebrating Bangla Day at the Sunderland Bangladesh International Centre.
• Participating in the Welcome to Japan workshop at Durham University, where pupils explored Japanese culture and language.
• Taking part in the 'Together We Fly' multilingual origami project, which celebrated world friendship.
• Celebrating the European Day of Languages through the Great Languages Challenge.
• Developing their understanding of French language and culture through our Modern Foreign Languages curriculum and international twinning project.

A significant part of our award work has been our partnership with École Élémentaire Jules Verne in Mers-les-Bains, France. Throughout the year, Year 5 and Year 6 pupils exchanged letters, emails and Teams calls with French pupils, sharing information about themselves, favourite foods, sports and daily life.

Our pupils also collaborated with their French peers through the "A Day in the Life" project, comparing school experiences, routines and cultures before discussing similarities and differences during live online meetings.

One of the highlights was a visit to our partner school in France. This provided pupils with an immersive language-learning experience, helping them to develop their confidence, fluency and understanding of French culture. The visit also broadened pupils' perspectives by exposing them to different educational systems, traditions and ways of life.

As part of the North East Festival of Languages, pupils also enjoyed a range of language and cultural activities including French puppet shows, Japanese calligraphy workshops, Bangla cultural celebrations and the La Petite Crêperie competition, which encouraged pupils to creatively explore French language and cuisine.

We are incredibly proud of all our pupils and staff whose enthusiasm, curiosity and commitment have contributed to this achievement. Retaining the International School Award demonstrates our ongoing dedication to promoting global learning and ensuring our pupils are well prepared for life in an increasingly interconnected world.