A TOTAL of 21 Year-5 pupils from the Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership travelled to Prague thanks to funding from the UK Government’s Turing Scheme.

The Government’s programme helps to provide international opportunities in education through grant funding to study abroad. 

John Snell, headteacher of Welton Primary School and leader of the project, successfully secured the funding. He explained: “The grant is most often used for pupils of secondary school age and upwards to connect abroad, but I thought, why not apply for our Year-5 primary pupils?”

Children from three schools in the Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership - Welton Primary, Shoscombe Church School and St. John's Primary School - teamed up with pupils from Škola da Vinci in Prague to work on a project called ‘One Connected World’ on their five-day trip after communicating online for several months. All of the children across Year 5 had some involvement with the project virtually before some embarked on the European trip.

During the trip, which took place from Monday, March 11, to Friday, March 15, the children from the Midsomer Norton schools worked on their project with their peers from Škola da Vinci, gaining an understanding of how other schools look after their mental health.

The children explored how schools from different countries deal with well-being, learning that their experiences were more similar than they were different, despite language and culture differences. Pupils also took part in various activities throughout the week, such as visiting a zoo and having a guided tour of Prague. The main question that the pupils were trying to answer was: “What is it that makes us feel good about ourselves?”

MrSnell said: “The most powerful thing, for me, was the connection that was made between the students from all of the schools. They developed some really strong friendships over the week, and it was quite emotional seeing all the hugs on the last day between the children from Midsomer Norton and those from the Prague school.

“Most importantly, the children recognised that, despite language barriers, they all experience the same anxieties that growing up brings. That shared feeling made them realise how similar they are, and helped alleviate some of those worries.”

The plan is to continue to connect with the pupils from Škola da Vinci, who will pay a visit to Midsomer Norton in the near future.