After achieving the UNICEF RRSA Level One in November 2007 Portchester has worked hard to be the first secondary school in the UK to reach Level Two.
On 5 March the UNICEF accreditors judged the Community Comprehensive School to be a “benchmark” for all other schools. To criticise the school would be “tinkering with excellence”.
Praise was given for the strength and drive given to Rights, Respect and Responsibility by the Leadership Team in the school. Mention was also made of the superb work carried out by the R, R & R students who lead their school classmates in work on: Fair Trade, assemblies in local junior schools, collecting names for a petition for better facilities on local recreation ground, changing the perception of local leaders about the needs of young people and working with HIAS on developing safeguarding policies for the school.
The school’s commitment to international partnership is exemplary. Not only have students visited their South African school to work on the UNCRC but a different group have worked in the same school on developing their own Caribbean-based steel band.
A strong link with a school in the Nederlands has resulted in History and Geography curriculum development links about climate change issues and Second World War occupation work. As a result of the South African links, the Dutch school also built a partnership and deepened it through Afrikaans speaking work.
More recently Portchester has developed in conjunction with Art Asia in Southampton, a link with a school in Kolkata and the Director of Performing Arts is keen to enrich the curriculum with Indian music and dance.
The school is also part of a Comenius application due to start in August 2010 involving the Dutch school, a school in Koln and a school in Verona. This multi-lateral partnership based on R, R & R will involve staff and students from all four schools sharing ideas in a creative and collaborative way.