British Council International School Award success for Thornton College

Thornton College in Buckinghamshire has been awarded Foundation level of the British Council’s prestigious International School Award in recognition of its work to bring the world into the classroom.

The International School Award celebrates the achievements of schools that do exceptional work in international education. Fostering an international dimension in the curriculum is at the heart of the British Council’s work with schools, so that young people gain the cultural understanding and skills they need for life and work in today’s world.

On hearing the news that Thornton College had achieved Foundation level of the award, Dr Louise Shaw, Head Teacher said: “We are absolutely thrilled with this recognition as we truly are an international school with a family of schools in twenty-nine countries around the world educating over 100,000 young people.

“Our students here at Thornton get the opportunities to make meaningful long-term links with students across the world and this is built into our curriculum enabling global perspective and understanding.”

Shannon West, Head of UK Schools for the British Council, said: “Thornton College’s international work has earned the school well-deserved recognition with the British Council International School Award – Foundation Certificate.

We are delighted and proud that Thornton College is committed to developing a whole school approach to embedding and celebrating international work. The dedication from everyone is enriching education and supporting globally aware young people and the development of key skills.

We thank all involved in this important work; embedding an international ethos across a school can lead to International School Award accreditation, which is the highest level of the award. Schools looking to join this supportive and engaging global network should contact us at the British Council.”

The Award is now available worldwide in countries such as Greece, India and Nigeria and

encourages and supports schools to develop:

• An international ethos embedded throughout the school
• A whole school approach to international work
• Collaborative curriculum-based work with a number of partner schools
• Year-round international activity
• Involvement of the wider community