Young boy sits on the floor reading a book
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British Council

Connect and collaborate with teachers and pupils in a different country to foster a love of reading, celebrate diverse literature and engage young readers. Grow your reading community by sharing your favourite books and stories with your partner school and develop a shared passion and enthusiasm for reading.

On this six-month project, focusing on ‘reading for pleasure’, we will introduce you to a partner school and provide you with a range of suggested curriculum-related activities which you and your pupils can develop along with pupils in your partner school.

This programme is aimed at primary level, ages 7 to 11.

The next round will start in October 2024. Please apply via the Apply now button below. Priority will be given to schools who have not had an international partnership before.

Reading for pleasure, October 2024

For this round, we are delighted to be working with our colleagues in Jamaica to learn about each other’s culture through words and books and to share a love of reading. 

A minimum of 25 UK and 25 Jamaican schools will be placed in one-to-one partnerships, with teachers coming together as a whole group for webinars delivered by the British Council team and expert practitioners.

There will also be a live celebration event, when schools from all over the world will join us to hear about what we’ve learned and to celebrate with us the joy of reading.

Apply now

Apply using the link below. Spaces for the October 2024 round are limited, but applicants will also be considered for future rounds of the programme running in 2025. 

For primary schools in the UK, follow the link: 

Apply now

Schools outside the UK can register on our Partner Finder database.

Reading is an exercise in empathy, an exercise in walking is someone else’s shoes for a while.”
Malorie Blackman, British writer and children's laureate from 2013-2015

 

What is a guided partnership? 

A guided partnership introduces schools in the UK to schools overseas, guiding and supporting them through a series of short-term, collaborative, curriculum-based activities. The guided part of the project typically lasts for two or three months but schools are encouraged to continue their partnership into the future. Find out more