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UKIERI exchange programme to London
20 June – 27 June for the year 2010.
By Shivanshi Pathak, Primary English teacher for classes III-V.
UKIERI is a five year programme which aims to substantially improve educational links between India and the UK so that in the long term we can become partners in education .The partnership formed under the initiative has some key principles.
- Making learning fun
- Engaging with technology
- Creating professional teaching resources
- Sharing learning resources and
- Connecting with the outside world.
This year our school management chose me to represent our school for the UKIERI educational programme to London. I was humbled to hear about my selections and suddenly felt extremely responsible. With a little apprehension which was put to rest by our esteemed Chairperson, Dr. Nayana Goradia and our Principal Ms. Manleen Ahluwalia, I was patiently assisted at every step especially when we faced a problem with our visas which we received at 5.15pm the evening before! I was accompanied by Kriti Dang of class 9B.
The programme Co-coordinator ( London) was Mr.Dan Lyndon, a senior History teacher at Fortismere School.The trip was scheduled from 20 June to 26 June 2010.The team from India included six students and the following teachers –
- Mr. Sanjay Bhardwaj - Gyanbharti School
- Ms.Seema Narayan - St. Thomas School
- Ms. Shefalee Gupta - The Banyan Tree
- Ms. Kiran Banwait - Modern School,Vasant Vihar
- Ms. Aditi Mehta - Jaspal Kaur School
We left for London on the morning of 20 June and landed in the evening at 6.30 as per London timing. We reached our family apartment 152 Hoppers Road via tube. Our itinerary was as follows.
Monday June 21
 P1 - Welcome, introduction and tour of Fortismere School. We were shown around Fortismere School, it's huge campus with various specialized departments. The tennis court, the exhaustive art department and a wonderfully appointed library were impressive.
P2 - Meeting with the coordinators of UKIERI at Fortismere to have a discussion about our projects followed by pupil shadowing from periods 3 to 5. The day ended with a little reception in the library where one of our Indian students, Mansi from Gyanbharti gave a spellbinding Bharatnatyam performance.
Tuesday June 22
P1 - A project planning meeting was organized to discuss the various projects initiated by the participating schools and their progress. We also discussed several proposed projects for collaboration with the teachers at Fortismere.
P2 - We were given a time- table and we proceeded to observe Lessons. I went to observe English lessons ( 7-11 years), a creative writing class and a class on Shakespearean times as an introduction to Macbeth. It was a lovely learning experience. The atmosphere in the class was unrestricted. However ,like in every school there were some students who were uninterested despite the teacher’s effort. Another observation was the free use of internet as a teaching aid, each class having a smart board which made teaching interactive and fun.
In the evening we were taken to the Pea** Theatre to watch-‘Insane In the Brain ‘.It was a dance –drama, brilliantly executed.
Wednesday June 23
P1-P2- All day visit to Chestnut Primary School
The day at the Chestnut was well spent. We observed a school with mixed ethnicities, races and diverse cultural-social backgrounds. We observed a a lesson plan, toured the school, interacted with students and teachers, sat through a story-telling session and noticed that their teaching was theme oriented, all subjects were woven around that theme, the theme for the week being Dinosaurs! Mention worthy was the room specially designed for children with special needs with a specially trained staff to assist, record and assess their development.
Thursday June 24
Mr. Dan took us all for a day out! The students and the teachers were taken on a guided tour to – Tower of London and The London Eye. In the evening we were invited for an informal dinner by Mr. Aiden, Principal, Fortismere School .
Friday June 25
 P1- Meeting with student council, Fortismere School. Our students gave presentations to the students / teachers. Our Kriti Dang recited the poem –Sailing to Byzantium after a brief introduction about the theme of the year at our School, namely, The Silk Route. Her performance got her accolades from the audience.
P2 - Project planning meeting
P3/ P4 -Training and action plan: We were taught how to use and upload information on a specially created page on the School’s website for further dissemination of ideas.
P5 - Reflection meeting to discuss how things went as an outcome of our five day exchange. There was a farewell reception after school and we took the opportunity to eat out together that evening. My memories of these shall remain mine vividly.
Saturday June 26
Departure.
I had a very fruitful learning experience and I would like to thank my gracious Chairpersons, Mr. and Mrs.Goradia for giving me this wonderful opportunity. I went as a student and have realized that I shall always be one for there is always so much to learn…I shall always remain a student so that I make a good teacher.
With regards and in gratitude,
Shivanshi Pathak
A TRIP TO LONDON (UNDER UKIERI)
I remember the day when Principal Ma’am called me to her room and informed me that I was the lucky one chosen to represent The Indian School in London under the UKIERI exchange programme. Initially I was not able to believe my ears as this was a very wonderful opportunity for me. I was excited but on the other hand I was nervous too!
I was selected on the basis of my overall performance including my academic results, my interest in co-curricular activities and my behaviour.
My parents allowed me to be a part of this exchange programme and soon my passport was ready. I met Ms.Shivanshi Pathak, the teacher from my School, who was escorting me. A cluster of six schools of Delhi were a part of this educational exchange programme and from each school one student accompanied by a teacher were chosen to represent their school. All of us as a group soon applied for the VISA but we had to struggle for it till the last day.
Our group of 12 boarded the plane on 20 June, 2010 at around 1:30p.m. It was quite a comfortable and safe journey of about 9 hours. At London airport we went along with Mr. Dan Lyndon, who was in charge of this programme, and escorted all the students to their respective host families. The teachers were also taken to their respective apartments.
I was staying with Molly Purcell, a student of the Fortismere School, which was our host school. Molly’s parents and her elder sister were gracious hosts. Molly’s house was situated in Muswell Hill,Tetherdown.
On Monday morning, Molly and I walked to Fortismere, where all the Indian students and teachers were welcomed and introduced to the teachers and the Head of the school, Mr.Aydin Onach. Then some students took us on a tour around the school. The school was quite big comprising of separate rooms for all subjects, a huge play ground, badminton, basketball and tennis courts, a well stocked library and a canteen. After this tour of the school we attended lessons along with the students we were staying with. By attending Molly’s lessons I got to know their educational system and their way of learning. In the afternoon there was a dance performance by Manasi of Gayn Bharti School. After school, in the evening I spent some time with Molly and her family and went off to bed early.
The next day, I attended Molly’s lessons in the morning at school and went around Muswell Hill with her after school. In the evening our group of students and teachers along with Mr. Dan went to the Pea** Theatre and enjoyed the amazing and beautifully displayed play ‘Insane in the brain’. I will not be able to forget this play for a long time.
On Wednesday, after attending lessons at school, I went out with Molly’s family around London and saw some famous historical places including Buckingham Palace, the Tower Bridge, Hyde Park and walked along the embankments of the river Thames. I had a great time over there and I captured all the memories in my camera.
The next day, being Thursday, along with my group I went for a walking tour of London. We visited the Tower of London where Mr. Dan enlightened us on the dynamic past of the historical monument. Then we went to the London Eye, a big giant wheel, in which we actually sat and as it went up we got a better view of the city and enjoyed it thoroughly. In the evening, Molly and I went to one of her friend’s house for dinner. At night Molly’s mother took me to the Alexandra Palace from where I got a very good view of the city, as it was situated at a height.
On Friday morning, there were some presentations by the Indian students including me at the Fortismere School. I narrated an extract from the script of ‘Dilli Meri Jaan’ in Hindi which I spoke during the last year’s Annual Day and I also recited the poem ‘Byzantium’ and briefed them about it, linking them with the themes chosen by our school each year and the criteria behind it .
This was followed by a meeting and an interactive session with the Student Council of that school. After meeting the Student Council I joined Molly in her lessons. Amongst all the lessons I attended, Design and Technology was my favourite. In the afternoon we had a farewell reception in which Anubhav , a student of The Banyan Tree School, Delhi conducted a dance workshop for the teachers of Fortismere School. We were all a part of it and had a lot of fun together. In the evening were all invited for a meal by Mr. Lyndon.
Saturday was a day for all of us to meet our friends and family staying in London. Even I met my relatives and went shopping with them. Then I soon packed my bags got ready to leave, though not willingly. We reached the airport around 5:30p.m and our plane took off at 8:45p.m. We had a safe and happy overnight journey and reached to Delhi at 9:45a.m. The trip was unimaginably fantabulous and nothing better could have ever been expected from a student exchange programme.
All of us learned a lot while enjoying ourselves till the very end. Thus, I feel very fortunate to be a part of this UKIERI exchange programme. Thanks to all who went along especially Shivanshi ma’am and my group leader. Last but not the least Principal Ma’am and my teachers for giving me this opportunity to learn more and explore. I am also very grateful to Molly and her family for being so gentle and caring towards me. I will never forget my first and extremely memorable trip abroad, throughout my life.
KRITI DANG
IX B
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