In December 2010, the school was awarded the International School Award at Intermediate Level. This recognises our work with schools in other countries to give our students greater global awareness.

Failsworth School aims to prepare its students for the 21 century. We live in a world which allows greater freedom of travel and experience than ever before. Part of preparing our students for the 21 century, is helping them understand the world around them and their place in it. They will travel further than their parents and grandparents did, and meet more different cultures – they need to have a sense of curiosity and openness to take with them, not fear and mistrust.

Pupils outside a church 

We seek opportunities to introduce and study global aspects in both our academic and pastoral curricula. For example, in art students explore African art. Religious education goes beyond a study of Christianity to take in the religions of the Far East, which so shaped their cultures. In English, the choice of texts and poems explores cultures far and wide.

Our students are encouraged to share their own experiences of other cultures with the rest of school. Each family group is part of a House – these Houses are named after the five Olympic cities before London (2012), and families have done research and display work about the country and culture their House belongs to. In Summer 2010, we ran a postcard challenge between the Houses, whereby students and staff sent postcards from the places they visited when on holiday.

We also enjoy links with schools in other countries, so that our students can learn in a more realistic way about other countries and their cultures. We are involved in the Comenius Project – a European-wide linking of schools to build bridges between cultures and engender understanding and co-operation for the future. We are also involved in a Connecting Classrooms partnership – a worldwide partnering of schools, again to build understanding and reciprocal respect between cultures.