Pupils go to school on other side of the world

Dec 9 2008 by Neil Mckay, The Journal

A VILLAGE primary school in County Durham has a unique link with young pupils in Papua New Guinea (PNG) via the internet.

Children from the primary school in Ludworth, near Durham, have been exchanging information with Talidig Primary School via letters and emails passed on by British volunteers in the Pacific island nation.

But last week Talidig became the first school in PNG to link to the internet – and Ludworth pupils received the first email direct from their friends on the other side of the world.

James Waites, nine, worked on a display of PNG. It includes pictures, masks, pieces of writing and the PNG flag. He said: “We can find out how they are doing in school and what has been happening over there. It all seems very different, but I think it would be a great place to go.”

Ludworth school’s link began last year when they had a visit from a PNG education official, who gave them a flag. He was made to feel so welcome he spent the day in the school.

Assistant headteacher Sharon Crawford and higher level teaching assistant Stacey Ogden have organised the work on PNG.

Mrs Crawford said: “We cannot email each other directly because there is a 10-hour time difference, so they will be switched on while we are still asleep. But we can share stories and look at the similarities and differences between our lives and the two places in a new light.”

The project is part of an ongoing educational link between County Durham and PNG.

The country occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands. It is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Its capital, and one of its few major cities, is Port Moresby.

There are over 850 indigenous languages and at least as many traditional societies, out of a population of just under 6m. It is also one of the most rural, with only 18% of its people living in urban centres.

Ludworth, by contrast, is a small former mining village east of Durham.

Ofsted inspectors described Ludworth Primary as “outstanding”.

They praised its “high aspirations for all pupils, excellent care and support and very effective teaching which enables pupils to thrive. Whatever their background or abilities, pupils simply blend together”.