The British Council’s Chief Executive, Martin Davidson, has announced new international opportunities for Scottish schools to link with partners from the Middle East to Latin America, marking the continued growth of British Council programmes in Scotland.

Speaking at a Scottish Parliament reception to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the British Council he highlighted the international challenges and tensions facing the world when the British Council was first established in 1934, and how they have changed over the years.

‘There used to be a sense that the world needed the UK more than the UK needed the rest of the world. Today, the opposite is very clearly the case. Our international influence and prosperity depend on the strength of our relationships with a wide range of countries. That’s why we want to play our part in enabling every child in Scotland to have an international education through our Connecting Classrooms programme and offer every university and college in Scotland help to build international partnerships.’

Connecting Classrooms is the British Council’s global programme for schools, creating sustainable partnerships between groups of schools in the UK and around the world. Through these partnerships, the programme builds trust and understanding between societies and develops young people as global citizens, prepared for life and work in our global society.

British Council is working in partnership with the curriculum development body Learning & Teaching Scotland to develop the programme in Scotland and offer schools new international opportunities to enhance the delivery of Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence. The new opportunities will offer links with up to 20 countries across three continents.

Currently, schools in nine Scottish local authorities are signed up to Connecting Classrooms. The shared ambition with Learning & Teaching Scotland is that a total of 16 local authorities will be signed up this year and that all 32 Scottish local authorities will have had the opportunity to take part by 2012.

Martin Davidson added: ‘We all know that societies and economies around the globe are ever more closely connected. So being a citizen of the world is essential, not optional, for our young people. The British Council is delighted to be playing an ever greater role in helping young people in Scotland to develop a knowledge and understanding of the world and Scotland’s place in it.’

The Connecting Classrooms programme will give support and funding to schools to find international partners and develop their partnerships. Pupils will work together with their international partners on joint classroom-based activities which allow them to explore each other’s cultures and challenge stereotypes.

It will also offer professional development opportunities for teachers, school leaders and local authority representatives, and awards to recognise achievements in internationalism.

For more information on Connecting Classrooms please visit the web site.