Indian delegation impressed with schools in North Devon

A delegation of teachers from India has been busy learning all about North Devon in a visit to four local secondary schools. The five from the Patna region of India were at Braunton School, Pilton Community College, Park School and Bideford College to sha

A delegation of teachers from India has been busy learning all about North Devon in a visit to four local secondary schools.

The five from the Patna region of India were at Braunton School, Pilton Community College, Park School and Bideford College to share information and experiences as part of a three-year exchange project.

It is part of the UKIERI Project (United Kingdom India Educational Research Initiative) which is cross-curricular but with a focus on geography and art in particular, as the North Devon Geography Cluster of schools links with similar group back in India.

Leading the visit was Joint Commissioner Alok Verma, who at home administers the budget for some 26,000 schools and deals with an area the size of north western Europe.

"He was very impressed by what he saw and was keen to make this project sustainable beyond the three years we have funding for," said David Butt of Braunton School, who co-ordinated the visit.

"They brought some fantastic resources for us to use, too - it is a very productive partnership. They were particularly impressed that head teachers David Atton, Mark Juby and David Sharratt gave up their time to show them around the schools and that the heads were so involved with the running of the school and close to the children."

After touring the schools, viewing resources, teaching techniques and strategies, the Indian delegation were greeted by the Chairman of North Devon Council, Councillor Roy Lucas, who introduced them to the delights of a Devon cream tea and presented Mr Verma with a book showing photos of North Devon, as a memento of their visit.