What is Europe but a collective understanding of a shared culture? This culture is shaped through a balance between a joint tale of civilisation and shared struggle; and a diverse range of mythological, religious, national and regional stories that reflect the multitude of different experiences, beliefs and opinions that Europeans hold. Our schools both share a desire to better understand the language, culture and history of each other's nations; what binds us together as a shared European community; what makes us unique and different as countries with distinct pasts; and how we can reconcile our pasts and present to create a shared future. We believe the best way to create this understanding is to explore it through a medium every culture uses to communicate: sharing stories. This is something every child, no matter their background, longs to do - in order to be understood, and to understand the world around them. By doing this, we will be encouraging all students involved to explore their own culture - to make it digestible and relatable - before then turning to the ideas and values of another. This should hopefully provoke a constant process of comparison and reflection, as well as the understanding that both can bring; resulting in a deeper understanding of their place within their nation's culture, and its place within the wider narrative of the European community. This begins by "exploring" stories; encouraging them to be more active, whilst being involved in intercultural dialogue by sharing ideas, knowledge and opinions, culture and traditions. It is going to be developed through joint activities such as writing our own story, sharing traditional and popular stories and legends, making school plays and "discovering" partner countries. We also want to encourage pupils to help plan their own learning through use of interviews, questionnaires, emails, video conferences, meetings and continually-developing blog which will stand as a living document: a reminder of the power storytelling holds in pulling peoples of different cultures together in a common task. It will hopefully culminate in children having a greater sense of ownership of the stories from their nationalities; their own versions of their cultures treasures; and a new understanding of another culture and all the stories that make it unique, important, and relevant to all of us. Encouraging both students and educators to approach new stories - and reimagine known ones - it will also revitalise both schools approach to teaching and learning about stories. Using a range of different mediums, students will be able to find their own way into tales they may have previously found difficult or even alien, but suddenly unfurl in front of them over the length of the project. The legacy of such a project will be measured in how it allows children to approach new stories in new ways; how communities will be able to visit and reflect upon their children's understanding of their culture; and how everyone involved with be able to read, hear, see and tell new stories of their own, informed by their own understanding of what a story is - and what it can mean.
Delivering the Modern Foreign Language Curriculums has given both schools a desire to better understand each other’s culture and place within the European Community. The optimum way to explore this was felt to be using a medium popular and common amongst people around the globe: story-telling. Through Sharing Through Story-Telling, the two schools investigated how joint cooperation and collaboration could develop innovative ways to provide students with cultural enrichment, exchanging ideas and good practice along the way. The project’s key objective was to gain knowledge of each other’s culture and heritage whilst deepening the understanding of their own. The exchange of three specially-selected story books from both countries enabled children to gather information about each other’s customs and traditions whilst also considering their own. This was further developed by the year-long topic learning about the history and geography of the other school’s country; it focused on comparing and contrasting the countries’ cultures, reflecting upon how they were united by being part of the European Union. The learning was delivered via cross-curricular activities which enthused the children about the priority to promote the acquisition of skills and competencies. Varied and stimulating activities were prevalent, but the primary focus was on the schools’ participation in the highly-successful mobilities; first-hand experience was the best way to fully understand the cultural roots of the partners which was then shared with the rest of the school community. Carefully-selected excursions and activities provided cultural learning opportunities in which everyone fully immersed themselves. They provided an ideal platform from which the main priority of the project could be addressed: to explore the social and educational value of European cultural heritage. Another objective was to stimulate writing to enable children to understand its value in exploring and sharing their interests, beliefs and upbringing. Stories were the key form of writing explored; as well as considering the printed books exchanged, they were encouraged to produce their own material both in and out of school. However, this project also emphasised the benefits of collaboration; exchanging ideas, explaining thoughts and sharing experiences could help to develop material that conveyed a more thorough understanding of how personal experiences were drawn from heritage and culture. The joint story book produced clearly reflected the project’s impact; the children’s decision to base their story on the cultural experiences provided by the venture highlighted their engagement with the project’s objectives. The project’s final main objective comprised increasing confidence in inter-cultural communication. Although, both schools had been studying the other’s language, the majority of both children and adults involved were at a very early stage of this learning; as such, it was a major step to exchange thoughts and ideas. Throughout the year-long activities, this communication was developed in both traditional and digital forms; these interchanges laid great foundations for the mobilities. Coupled with carefully chosen activities designed to encourage bonding and familiarity, barriers were swiftly overcome as the two groups focused on increasing their understanding of each other’s lives and backgrounds. As planned, the project was documented via a blog, the principal platform on which its progress was commemorated and shared with the schools’ wider communities. This permanent record of the partners’ cultural journey clearly reflects how they have broadened their knowledge both of each other and of their common ground as part of the European family. Whilst the blog is the key tangible result from the project, the creation of the joint story book, performance of cultural plays and songs, the development of the logo and various leaflets and topic learning were further outcomes. These were produced alongside a selection of significant intangible results such as improved communication skills and confidence, community spirit and increased awareness of culture and European commonalities. The principle benefit gained from these results is that significant cultural enrichment has clearly taken place, which will have a lasting impact; it has stimulated a desire to understand more about belonging to the wider European community and to be more open to communicating with and learning about those from a different culture. The blog will serve as a point of reference for such exploration, providing ideas of how to stimulate cultural learning both within and beyond the classroom. Furthermore, it is a constant reminder of the power and importance of collaboration: how coming together to share thoughts, ideas and knowledge can provide a deeper understanding of our own and others’ lives and how they interconnect by being rooted in the common European family.