Schools winning International School Award honoured

AMMAN — The British Council celebrated the achievement of the Jordanian schools participating in the International School Award as part of the Connecting Classrooms project.

Najwa Qabilat, the Secretary General for Administrative and Financial Affairs at the Ministry of Education, and British Ambassador in Jordan Bridget Brind OBE attended the event, in addition to partners and teachers from the participating schools, according to a British Council statement.

Connecting Classrooms through Global Learning is a partnership between the British Council, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the UK, the Ministry of Education, the Directorate of Education and Military Culture and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Qabilat emphasised the importance of this award: A global project integrating “the international dimension with education in schools” and promoting Sustainable Development Goal 4 to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education, promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. 

Schools should have opportunities to instill foreign cultural awareness promoting best practices and helping young people acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and values, Qabilat said.  

Marta Lorenzo, the director of UNRWA in Jordan, and Brigadier Ali Da’jah, the director of the Directorate of Education and Military Culture, in addition to May Abu Hamdia, the deputy and acting director at the British Council, also  addressed the gathering.

During the ceremony, certificates, medals and prizes were distributed to 29 schools in Jordan. Eight were from the Ministry of Education, seven from the Directorate of Education and Military Culture and fourteen from UNRWA. 

Twenty-three schools received full accreditation, three schools achieved the intermediate level, and three schools achieved the foundation level. The awards involved 23,198 students and 505 teachers and coordinators from the participating schools. 

The British ambassador said: “Despite the many challenges of COVID-19 for education over the last year, I am delighted to celebrate the success of the UK’s Connecting Classrooms programme in Jordan.”

“Through this programme with the British Council, we have engaged with 274 schools in Jordan on different virtual and face-to-face activities to support the professional development of teachers and to help equip young people with the knowledge, skills and values they need to live, work, and thrive in a global society,” she added.

Mai Abu Hamdia, the deputy and acting director of the British Council, congratulated the participants on their achievement.

John Rolfe, the schools’ communication officer at the British Council in the UK, thanked the partner institutions’ representatives for their cooperation 

The International School Award is one of the most important awards that schools around the world compete for under the supervision of the British Council, the statement said.

The International School Award is a global accreditation programme that acknowledges good practices in granting the international dimension to schools.

The award also seeks to achieve the fourth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals, represented in the quality of education. It seeks to ensure inclusive and high-quality education for all and promote lifelong learning through equitable and real communication and collaboration.

Connecting Classrooms is a global programme for schools, designed to prepare young people for living in a global society and working in a global economy, according to the statement.