Saint Gregory’s partner school in India is M C Kejriwal Vidyapeeth. Teachers from Saint Gregory’s, including Mr McDermott, Mr Burn and Mrs Musgrove, have had the privilege of visiting the school in Kolkata in previous years, to share aspects of teaching and learning from England and experience first-hand education in India. The website of the partner school may be viewed on the following link – www.mckv.edu.in

Students in Year 9 have been working on a literature project in collaboration with our Indian partner school, designed to inspire a love for literature amongst students, encouraging them to consider the socio-economic backgrounds that influence the works of authors such as Ruskin Bond, C.S Lewis, J.K Rowling and Oscar Wilde.

The students at MCKV India have been looking at some of the stories of these authors and working on producing a fictional musical drama, where characters from the stories of the authors cross one another’s path – Harry Potter (J K Rowling), Lucy (The Chronicles of Narnia, C S Lewis), the Selfish Giant (Oscar Wilde) and Rusty (The Boy From the Hills, Ruskin Bond).

Year 9 students at Saint Gregory’s have been reading and considering some of the short stories of the Indian author Ruskin Bond:

  • Eyes Have It
  • The Overcoat
  • The Tiger in the Tunnel
  • A Face in the Dark

In addition to the literary value of these stories, they provide a fascinating insight into social and cultural aspects of India, providing readers with a reflection of Indian society, relationships, and lifestyle.

Students in Year 9 have been enjoying reading one or more of these stories and writing a Short Story Review, as well as devising and writing their own unique Indian short story.

It was great to see many of our Year 9 students engaging with the stories we received from our partner school in India. They covered lots of different issues and themes and really opened the students’ eyes to a different culture. The reviews and short stories they have written in response are excellent, and it is amazing that these can be appreciated by many other creative, imaginative pupils in a school nearly 5000 miles away.”

“This was a really positive project and it was great that the English Faculty could be involved.
Thanks to everyone who participated.”

Mr Davis and the English Team

We were thrilled to hear from our partner school this week, expressing their delight at also being involved in this project:

I can’t thank the students and teachers of St. Gregory’s Catholic College, Bath for the amazing stories written by the children. Also the reviews you had sent earlier were written so well. I am glad they took a liking to Ruskin Bond. We are miles apart, yet so close! The students have penned beautiful stories. The element of the supernatural and magic has been perfectly woven into the plot. Both the stories gave such strong messages. Lovely work Lydia and Joseph! Kudos! Also everyone in Bath please accept my gratitude for walking the extra mile to help us complete the project. Hope you enjoy the stories sent by our children.”

Atasi Sarkar, Lead Teacher in ISA Collaborative Project English

 

This interesting and enriching cross-cultural activity reflects Saint Gregory’s commitment to internationalism, embedding global learning throughout the curriculum. Students’ work can be found in this week’s newsletter.

Miss Medcroft,
International Co-ordinator