Ely & East Cambs area news

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King’s Ely secures reaccreditation

King’s Ely is delighted to have achieved reaccreditation of the prestigious International School Award. The British Council’s International School Award is a badge of honour for schools that do ‘outstanding work in international education’, such as through links with partner schools overseas. King’s Ely first received the award, which lasts for three years, in 2012. Approving King’s Ely’s reaccreditation this month, a British Council spokesperson said: “All the sections of your Impact Evaluation, including the Impact and Ambassadorial sections, describe a school which is committed to embedding a global dimension into its curriculum and international work with its many partner schools abroad. Despite the challenges of Covid, King’s Ely has found creative and innovative ways in which to engage pupils in global work and projects, in school or at home, mainly through an increase in the use of various forms of technology. Good luck with your future plans, and congratulations on your success in achieving Reaccreditation of the International School Award in 2021.” Just one example of how the pandemic and its associated lockdown and travel restrictions have not stopped students and staff working with friends overseas is an Erasmus+ project called ‘The Village’. Last Autumn, King’s Ely secured funding from the European Commission and British Council to deliver ‘The Village’ – a collaborative project involving King’s Ely students and pupils at two of its partner schools, IES Andrés Vandelvira in Albacete, Spain and College Chaloupe Saint-Leu in La Reunion, France. The two-year project will involve dozens of students from each school and the aim is for participants to explore the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations through the creation of a unique virtual city, The Village, while developing cultural awareness and social interaction in order to create a real context to enhance their language skills. In February, Year 9 students at King’s Ely who are involved in the project were meant to travel to Albacete to carry out their first mobility activities, but obviously that could not happen due to the current circumstances. Instead, all three schools organised and carried out a virtual mobility experience instead, using ‘Google Meet’ and ‘Breakout Rooms’ to communicate and work collaboratively. Once travel restrictions have been lifted, exchange trips will be planned for students and staff involved in The Village project, enabling participants to meet each other, work together and learn more about each other’s languages and cultures.

Photo credit: Martyn Fordham

Ely rail station ‘turf wars’

Greater Anglia staff at Ely station are on a mission to delight passengers with flowers, holding a competition to see who can create the best display. The ‘Ely Station Turf Wars’ competition has seen 12 members of staff allocated to six planters on the platforms and asked them to get creative with their planting schemes. Staff divided into teams of two and were asked to pick a planter and a packet of seeds to get them started. They then had to come up with a team name and commit to caring for the displays for at least five months to the end of the August, when the winners would be selected. At the end of the month, passengers will be asked to vote on the best display with a trophy for the winners. The competition was organised by Train Dispatcher, Jade Wilkinson, who said: “I came up with the idea back in March when the station was looking a bit sorry for itself just coming out of the winter months. “I felt like it would be something fun for the staff to get involved with during the lockdown when things were very quiet at the station and would create a nice welcome for our customers when they could return. “So far everyone has done brilliantly and the platforms are looking so much more attractive and welcoming as a result. I hope that passengers will notice them and it will brighten their day.”