In March 2013, Paula Ayitey (headmistress) and Albert Amenorpenyo (science teacher) from Ankaful Mental Junior High School travelled to the UK to visit their partner school, Bennett Memorial Diocesan and take part in the 2013 ASCL Annual Conference. Their visit was funded by the Association of School and College leaders (www.ascl.org.uk) who work in partnership with Partner Ghana. In this blog, Paula reflects on her visit.”
For me, attending the ASCL Annual Conference from my point of view has been a great source of motivation as a headteacher. in particular, I was inspired by the opportunity for me to interact with other headteachers from a different part of the world. Again, I was impressed by the standard of organisation both at the conference and at my partner school and this has given me some ideas for improving administration in my school. Most of all, the conference has made me aware that whether you are a Ghanaian or a European teacher, we face many of the same challenges.
The high point of the conference was an opportunity to put a question on International School Partnerships to the Rt. Hon. Michael Gove, Secretary Of State For Education in the UK. I was pleased to hear that the Mr Gove feels that such partnerships are beneficial in making Britain less insular and that his department supports them. It was also a great pleasure to have our photo taken with the minister afterwards, as I know he is a very busy man.
I would like to offer thanks to ASCL, Bennett Memorial School and Partner Ghana for a memorable trip to the UK.”
