A TEAM of local teachers are in Africa this half term break, working on teaching projects and attempting to set up links between Yorkshire and Kenyan schools.

Bingley Grammar School has been working with a group of schools in Kenya since 2011, with staff making multiple visits to schools there. This week a group of teachers are using the week long break to visit different schools to work on teaching and learning projects.

As well as Bingley Grammar teachers Emma Ellis, Emma Cartledge, Ben McGregor, Paul Cross from Eldwick Primary and Richard Atkins from Crossflatts Primary have travelled to the Kenya to work with students from Hospital Hill Primary and Jamhuri High School in Nairobi. The projects will focus on textiles, history, sports and literacy.

In addition to this Jamil Parapia and Dave Foster have been asked by the Pixl Club group of schools in the UK to help raise achievement of a cluster of schools in Nairobi. This is fully funded by Pixl International, the charitable arm of the group and staff hope to launch strategies across five schools in the city.

Head of Textiles, Miss Ellis, will be taking with her a collection of bags made by her Year 9 students as gifts from Bingley Grammar School, as well as a suitcase full of art materials.

Last year Miss Ellis ran an extra-curricular club making pillowcase dresses for the Kenyan children. The club proved so popular Miss Ellis decided to build a project into the curriculum for all students to have the opportunity to take part. The bag project follows the national curriculum guidelines, but students are given the option to donate the bags they have created to a Kenyan child.

Throughout the project students are asked to consider how the bag will be used and in what conditions.

Miss Ellis said: “The students loved the idea of being able to create a gift for a student in Kenya and they all took great pride in the design and quality of their work. It really was fantastic to see the groups getting excited about who might be given the bag they had made.”

During the trip, Miss Ellis plans to produce a textile wall hanging with the students promoting Kenya and their school life. Her pupils at Bingley Grammar have already made a similar wall hanging.

The Kenyan students will learn a range of fine art techniques along with hand embroidery stitch, applique and embellishment. Miss Ellis will be taking a wall hanging made by her Form Group 9W3 to inspire them and also letters from the students in her form for the Kenyan students to respond to.

As well as helping the Kenyan schools and their pupils, the visits help provide the local teachers with invaluable experience. While there, they come face to face with traffic congestion, searing heat and working with children who come from some of the poorest backgrounds, all making for an emotionally testing visit.

The teachers flew out late last week.

Last year Mr McGregor won the Secondary School Teacher of the Year award at the Telegraph & Argus school award, in part due to his work helping to forge the international links between Bingley Grammar and Kenya. The PE teachers helped set up a programme at our school where Bingley students donate their old boots to Jamhuri High School, and helped fund raise for a sports kit for the school.