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Derby Moor Spencer Academy, a secondary school in Derby, joined the Global School Alliance in 2016 through the Sister School Partnerships programme. Since then, it has built a strong and lasting relationship with Hefei No.8 Senior High School in China, recently deepening the partnership through a visit and continues to demonstrate a strong commitment to international collaboration and global learning.
Derby Moor Spencer Academy has been part of the Global School Alliance since 2016, building a strong partnership with Hefei No.8 Senior High School in China. This relationship is part of wider links between Derby and Hefei, supported by local councils and universities.
The school’s international journey began in 2017 when Vice Principal Catherine Bhundia joined a delegation to Hefei. In 2019, students visited their sister school, followed by a return visit from Chinese colleagues later that year.
In 2023, Assistant Principal Ian Hall visited Hefei and Derby Moor have since hosted a reciprocal visit of students and staff.
The opportunity to see their passion for education at such a high level and then ask questions meant I left with a notepad full of ideas.
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After returning from the delegation to Hefei, Ian Hall organised an inset day for staff to learn about the visit and opportunities to collaborate on cross-curricular projects with the sister school.
James Kershaw, Personal Development Teacher:
“My name is James Kershaw and I am a teacher of Personal Social Health Education and Citizenship at Derby Moor Spencer Academy. On Monday 27th November 2023, there was a whole-school full day of staff INSET and CPD training. This included a detailed explanation and overview of our colleague and Assistant Principal Ian Hall’s recent Global Alliance trip, to China. During this trip, Mr Hall represented Derby Moor Spencer Academy when he visited our partnering school Hefei No 8. Mr Hall talked with great passion and enthusiasm about what he had seen whilst in China both within our partnering school and other local schools within and around Hefei. We were treated to a comprehensive Power Point Presentation of some of the experiences that Mr Hall saw whilst he was in China. This included a variety of photographs and videos showing Mr Hall in action in classrooms and with different teaching groups, demonstrating the work and performances at that time.
Chinese students seemed proud and genuinely interested to tell Mr Hall all about their school and their work and were obviously very inquisitive about schooling at Derby Moor and England in general. Mr Hall made it very clear that this was a fantastic and welcome ongoing partnership between Derby Moor Spencer Academy and Hefei No. 8 and far removed from being an attachment based on language and connection only like the long established and now outdated ‘pen-pal’ arrangements of yesteryear. This is an ongoing partnership agreement and colleagues were asked to consider and plan for how we could host and be as hospitable as possible, when staff and students from Hefei No. 8, make a return visit to Derby.
Not only did Mr Hall see some fantastic examples of education, work and passion whilst in China but at every opportunity, he clearly got time to reflect on what we are doing well at Derby Moor Spencer Academy and reminded him of why he is so proud to work in the school that he does. His presentation was inspiring, interesting and provides an ongoing challenge as to how both schools can work even closer together moving forward, to the benefit and advantage of the students that they teach.
Thank you to all those that have made this partnership possible.”
