New Academic Year: New Students Involved in the Radley Partnership
Two years ago, The Commonwealth Education Trust partnered with Radley College in the hope that through connecting their students with a number of schools worldwide, we could create global citizens who are empowered to change society for the better.
To launch this year’s partnership, Betty Abeng, CEO of the Commonwealth Education Trust and Alex Starr, Lead Education and Partnership Consultant, visited the school on September 18th. We are proud that former professional footballer, Cameroonian midfielder, CET Ambassador, Eyong Enoh, was able to join us. Mark Jewell, Head of Internal Partnerships, organised a fantastic and engaging day for everyone involved.
It began with Eyong returning to football, as he took on 5 boys in a penalty shootout. The boys were disappointed to lose by only one goal, but delighted that money was raised in the process, as they had donated a small contribution for the opportunity to play against World Cup participant, Eyong.
Afterwards, Betty, Alex and Eyong presented to the two different groups involved in this year’s partnership.
The first group (Year 9) will volunteer to converse with students in small groups on a bi-weekly basis, discussing a range of topics that progress from getting to know you to ideas for solving the learning poverty crisis. One Year 10, Hort, even told the boys how positive his experience of participating had been last year.
The second group (Year 10) will fundraise through innovative, creative methods. We are excited to follow the boys’ events this year, setting them the challenge of raising more money than last academic year. We were joined by George Egerton-Warburton, graduate of Radley and advocate of the Commonwealth Education Trust, who now works as a Climate Change Analyst for Barclays. He was able to reflect on the skills that are learnt in the process of fundraising and how his experiences with CET have shaped his world views.
It was after this that we met John Sparks, Director of Partnerships, where we outlined how the money raised had contributed to the Teach2030 Ambassador Programme, the writing of a brand new course and the publicity of our work worldwide. We also discussed how the collaboration could develop further, with ideas focused on developing the boys’ lifetime commitment to promoting a more equal society. It is clear we share the values of recognising the impact of teachers on learning outcomes and how they are a key factor in meeting the sustainable development goal of quality education for all.
Our special thanks must go Mark, John and all those involved at Radley for their generosity and for organising such a positive day.
