Middle East

Application information   

We are currently recruiting groups of UK schools to link with schools in Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Why link with the Middle East?

At a time of real change in many countries across the Middle East it is important for the future relationship between this region and the UK that young people and educators here have opportunities to explore beyond the news headlines and gain a deeper insight into the people and cultures that make up this dynamic region. Working with partners in the Middle East offers schools in the UK an exciting opportunity for challenging yet rewarding international work, with students and teachers working together to enhance educational outcomes and gain a real and first-hand understanding of one another.

What does Connecting Classrooms offer?

The opportunity to work with partner schools on collaborative curriculum projects which enable learners to interact across geographical boundaries - enhancing their understanding of each other’s societies, languages and cultures, and preparing them for life and work in a global society.   
Professional development for teachers and school leaders, which builds capacity to integrate an international dimension in the curriculum, support international partnerships and work in an international environment.   
Eligibility for International School Award accreditation, which recognises a school’s commitment to forming international partnerships and developing global citizens.   
Advice and support in the use of ICT tools that develop and sustain partnerships, including a range of online teacher forums.   

Read more about the programme.

How does Connecting Classrooms work for partnerships with the Middle East?

In this application round we are looking for 19 clusters of UK schools, as specified below.

Jordan: Places are available for ten UK clusters, each comprising three secondary schools.   
Lebanon: Places are available for three UK clusters, each comprising two secondary schools and one primary school.   
Oman: A place is available for one UK cluster, comprising three secondary schools.   
Saudi Arabia: Places are available for two UK clusters, each comprising five secondary schools. Due to schooling being single sex in Saudi Arabia please note that UK schools would be required to send a male teacher to the contact seminar (see below) and communications with the Saudi partners would also need to be led by male staff. Students of both sexes can participate in project activities but female students will not be able to engage directly with Saudi male students. The British Council will provide full support and guidance on managing these cultural sensitivities to successful schools.   
United Arab Emirates: Places are available for three UK clusters, each comprising three secondary schools.   

Following this recruitment round, we will match each successful cluster of UK schools with an equivalent cluster of schools in one of the countries listed above. (In the case of Oman, there will be four schools in the Omani cluster working with the three schools selected in the UK.) Representatives from each cluster in the UK and Middle East will then attend a contact seminar to meet their partners and start to plan projects together.

Contact seminars

A contact seminar for successful applicants that are matched with schools in Jordan or Lebanon will take place in the UK in January 2012.

Individual contact seminars for successful applicants that are matched with schools in Oman, Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates are likely to take place in the partner countries in December 2011 or January 2012.

In each case, we will make all arrangements for the contact seminars and cover travel, accommodation and subsistence costs for all participants.

Please note: Each school in each UK cluster will be expected to send a representative to participate in the relevant contact seminar, so appropriate teachers, headteachers or international co-ordinators must make sure that they would be able to meet this commitment at the time of applying. As stated above, schools that are matched with schools in Saudi Arabia would be expected to send a male teacher to represent them at the contact seminar in Saudi Arabia.

Funding

In the first year of the project, we will fund representatives of each UK school in each successful cluster to attend a contact seminar, as described above.

In the second year, the Middle Eastern clusters will be able to apply for a grant of up to £1,500 per school to enable them to visit their partners in the UK to plan further collaborative activities that will progress their partnerships.

In the third year, each UK cluster will be able to apply for a grant of up to £1,500 per school to visit their partners in the Middle East to plan ways in which they can sustain their partnership over a longer period of time.

Throughout the life of the partnership, teachers, head teachers and other appropriate school staff will be able to take advantage of professional development opportunities, including our free International Co-ordinators' Courses

Please note: We are piloting a new approach to the management and development of Connecting Classrooms partnerships, in which we are no longer asking for a local authority, federation or other organisation to support or co-ordinate clusters of schools in the UK. This means that we are not able to offer the additional grant for co-ordination that used to be available.

Post-application timeline

21 October 2011: Application deadline   
October-November 2011: Selection of eligible applicants; all applicants informed of the outcome of their application.   
December 2011 or January 2012: Contact seminars - representatives from each school in the UK and the Middle East will meet their partners for the first time and start to plan their partnership activities, including the themes and content of the joint curriculum projects that students will collaborate on. Please see the section above on 'Contact seminars' for more information.   

How do we get involved?

If you would like your school to get involved please read the Application Guidelines and ensure you meet the eligibility criteria before completing the Application Form. You need to engage other schools to form a cluster of either three or five schools - depending on the country you wish to link with (see above) - before you apply as you will be required to provide details of all schools in your cluster on the application form. (The application guidelines and form have been updated for this application round so please make sure you use the versions available here.) Please also make sure that one representative of each school in your cluster can commit to attending a contact seminar in December 2011 or January 2012 if your application is successful.

If you need support to form a cluster of the required number of schools, our Customer Services team may be able to help you identify other schools that are interested in international linking. The international co-ordinator in your local authority may also be able to offer you some advice.

Eligibility

You must apply with the right combination of schools in your cluster and a named partnership co-ordinator (see the Application Guidelines for more information).   
Schools in the cluster should not already be receiving funding from the British Council (nor have applications pending for funding) from the British Council for work with the chosen partner country.   
All schools should have at least Foundation level of the International School Award. (To register for the Foundation ISA, download the ISA Statement of Intent, then follow the instructions on the ISA web pages.) All schools accepted onto Connecting Classrooms will be expected, and supported, to work towards the next levels of the ISA during their involvement in the programme.   
Clusters should demonstrate that planned participation in Connecting Classrooms is linked to school development priorities.   

Connecting Classrooms priorities

In order to widen participation in the programme we prioritise schools that have not yet received British Council funding. However, we appreciate that schools with experience of building international links can benefit schools that are largely new to international work. Therefore we may also accept clusters made up of schools with a mix of experience.

For more information, please e-mail us at schools@britishcouncil.org or call us on +44 (0)161 957 7755.

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