Poynton High School has had a long-standing involvement with other European schools as part of the EU funded Comenius / Erasmus programme. This has meant that over the last twenty years many staff and students from the school have had the opportunity to visit partner schools, share good practice and participate in a huge variety of collaborative projects both here in Poynton and abroad.

Last year we hosted a Staff Conference focusing on ‘Innovative Practice’ in the classroom.  We welcomed staff from Spain, France, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands and Finland.  As well as a range of social events that were laid on, delegates took part in workshops and seminars which were led by staff from Poynton High School. We were lucky enough to have Joe Dale as a Keynote speaker who enlightened us with the wonderful ways we can enhance learning by using i-Pads.

Some of our students also hosted students from our partner schools.  They came to Poynton for a week of team-building activities including a trip to the Rope Race climbing centre in Marple, as well as the opportunity for all the students to engage in discussions and debates.  The students also had a glimpse into the life of a busy comprehensive school.  It was fascinating to compare the differences that exist between the different educational systems.

At the end of 2016 we  sent two staff to The Hague in the Netherlands for a conference on Multiculturalism within schools. More recently, two staff were able to spend a week in the medieval city of Turku in Finland.  The ethos of the school was very much that schools never compete within education.  Instead, the importance of the community, collaboration and respect were key features of their system. The only suggestion for improving the Finnish education system was that students wanted less homework! In the summer we are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to take some of our older students on an exchange visit to Turku.