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Mr Pollard visits our link school in Uganda

In June, Mr Pollard visited our link school in Uganda Namilyango College, one of The Weald’s International partner schools.

 

 

Namilyango College in Uganda is one of The Weald’s International partner schools and in June I was lucky enough to visit to further develop the links we have with them.  Last year Mr Hillier and Miss Goacher visited Namilyango to set up the link and my visit revolved around ensuring our relationship is able to be sustained.  The partnership was created with a focus on PE and in particular sports leadership.  Namilyango begun a programme on leadership as a result of our link and I was fortunate enough to experience first hand, the excellent progress and immediate impact it has had on not only their students, but to hundreds of local primary school pupils as well.

I was lucky enough to experience much of the culture of the Country in my week-long stay, as well as teaching and coaching a variety of activities, but perhaps what will stay with me for the longest is the amazing attitude and work ethic of the Namilyango students.  Life is difficult in Uganda and pupils are made fully aware of the necessity of a good education if you wish to be a success in life, something that has certainly not been lost on the pupils that I met.  They all wake up at 5:30 am for studies or ‘prep’ (without teachers I must add!) and only stop at 7:30 for breakfast.  They then have classes until 5pm, when everybody plays sport for an hour, followed by dinner and further personal studies until 10pm!  The most incredible thing about it is that at any point of the day you could walk past a crowded classroom, with often more than fifty pupils crammed in, to find them all working in silence without a teacher anyway near.

It is an experience which has lead me to feel even more passionate about the partnership we have between our two excellent schools, but it will only work if students from both sides are willing to help the link develop.  With this in mind, any students with any interest in the programme at all, please feel free to contact me, even if it is just to ask further questions.

Mr Pollard