A new partnership between Service Children’s Education and North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) Ministry for Schools and Further Education will significantly enhance development opportunities for BFG children based in NRW.

The new initiative was launched in a glittering ceremony hosted by Windsor School, Rheindahlen, with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between SCE and the Ministry.

The MOU was formally signed by Lynda Fisher, Chief Executive, Service Children’s Education and Herr Günter Winands, Minister for NRW Schools and Further Education.

The ceremony was attended by scores of Service pupils from schools in Rhine garrison and their local German partner schools, who together staged a colourful programme of entertainment for the many senior British and German visitors.
Commenting on the significance of the new partnership agreement, and welcoming Herr Winands and the other visitors, as well as the pupils themselves, Lynda Fisher said:  “It is vital that we provide opportunities for our young people to take full advantage of life in Germany and the cultural opportunities it offers. We are all part of a bigger Europe and the scope is immense for us to promote language development and work experience link-ups, among other opportunities.

“We must do all we can to prepare our young people for their futures and ensure that they are not isolated by being in Germany. Having said that, many excellent joint initiatives are already being forged between SCE and German schools and this signing will build on projects already in place.” 

Thanking the many people who made the day such a success, Lynda also singled out Gary Ogden, SCE’s NRW Links Project Officer, for particular thanks in putting together the detailed plans for the MOU, and the Rheindahlen Music Centre, for their superb big band performance.

She also paid tribute to the creative entertainment laid on by the pupils: “I am always hugely impressed by the talent shown by our youngsters and today is another example. The new MOU will provide further scope to develop language, musical and artistic skills alongside German schools. Living overseas already provides wonderful opportunities for our children but this will provide added value. I very much hope we can roll out these ideas elsewhere.”

Echoing her sentiments, Herr Winands said: “This is a wonderful chance to forge a true partnership. We already have close cooperation but I am delighted this can be further enhanced right on our own doorstep. Nowhere else is the distance between German and English schools so short. I too want to congratulate the Service and German children who provided us with such inspired entertainment today.”    

The hope is that the new initiative will strengthen opportunities for school exchanges, work placements, new teaching ideas, language development, knowledge of school systems, and joint projects in subjects such as geography and economics, as well as arts and music.

The impressive entertainment was jointly presented by local SCE and German pupils the ceremony, showcasing their talents and abilities. First up were St Andrew’s Primary School and the Grundschule Hardt, who laid on a poetry recital in both English and German, before Windsor School and Gesamtschule Hardt pupils staged a mock BFBS/Radio 90.1 programme, with spoof news and commentary in each others’ languages.

In a change of style, Hauptschule Rheindahlen pupils put on an imaginative gymnastics display dressed in clown costumes, with the finale going to Hugo Junkers Gymnasium pupils. They offered a thoughtful perspective on what the new initiative will mean to them, hoping to link up again with Windsor School for next year’s ‘Model Parliament’.

As a further opportunity, the MOU paves the way to extend TAP – the Teacher Acquisition Programme run by NRW - which focuses on recruiting English speakers to teach in their schools. The aim is to encourage graduates, whose native language is English, with a sound knowledge of German to teach in schools in this area.  Posts are available to teach on Geography, History and Biology courses. Potential applicants may have a degree in one of these subjects, another foreign language or English. The courses are part of the bi-lingual section and delivered through the medium of English. The scheme offers many advantages such as assistance with relocation and the opportunity to gain international experience. For further information you should visit the website: www.tap.nrw.de or contact the TAP hotline on 00 49 (0)211 5867 3441. It should be noted that applications are to individual schools.