Partner schools
We work with our partner schools on a permanent basis, year after year, so our students have peers abroad whom they know by name.
Our partners
- A school in Bavaria, Germany – we have been working with it for many years. Grades 7–8 practise German and English with their partners.
- Partner school in Valencia, Spain – our partner in the Erasmus+ programme. Grades 4–8 correspond with it in English.
We have a written cooperation agreement with both schools. It sets out shared goals, the people responsible and the rules for protecting students' data.
Cooperation in numbers
Correspondence
Every student in the participating classes has a regular pen pal at the partner school. Grades 4–6 write traditional letters and cards, which we send in a single parcel for the whole class. Grades 7–8 exchange messages through a closed project space run by the teacher.
We choose letter topics during lessons: school, family, interests, the seasons, favourite books. The teacher reads the messages before they are sent and helps with correct language.
Video calls
Three times a year the classes meet their partners on a video call. The call lasts one lesson and follows a prepared plan: introductions, questions prepared in advance, short presentations and a quiz.
How we prepare a video call
Call plan
The teachers of both schools agree the date, topic and order of speakers. They take into account the differences in timetables.
Questions and presentations
During lessons students prepare questions for their partners and short talks about themselves and their school.
The call in class
We connect from the school computer in the classroom. The teacher leads the call and students speak in turn.
A year of cooperation with our partners
September – October
First letters
Classes pair up pen pals and send letters introducing themselves along with a class photo.
December
Winter video call
The classes talk about how they spend winter and the Christmas break, and show the cards they have made.
February – April
A shared topic
The classes prepare a joint presentation or exhibition on a chosen topic with their partners.
May – June
Review
The last video call of the year and an exhibition of letters and work in the school hall.
Questions about cooperation with partner schools
Can my child write to their pen pal privately?
At school, correspondence goes through the teacher. If both children's families want to stay in touch privately, that is for the parents to decide, outside school.
Does my child need to know the language to write letters?
What the student has learned in lessons is enough. Younger grades write short sentences and draw, and the teacher helps with more difficult phrases.
Does the correspondence lead to trips?
Some pen pals meet during exchanges and group visits. The rules for trips and hosting are described on a separate page.
My pen pal from Bavaria plays handball too. On the video call we showed each other our sports halls.
Ewelina Sobolewska, German teacher – partner schools coordinator
We reply on working days, within three days.
Projects in the news
All news →
Erasmus+: welcoming guests from our partner school in Spain
For a week we hosted twelve pupils and two teachers from our partner school in Valencia, Spain. The visitors attended lessons with us and worked together with our pupils on a joint project.
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Erasmus+: getting ready to welcome our visitors from Spain
This week a group arrives from our partner school in Valencia. Pupils in Grades 7–8 have prepared the programme for the week, guides to the school and stations for joint workshops.
Read more →eTwinning: Grade 6 starts a project with peers from across Europe
Grade 6 classes have joined a new eTwinning project with schools from Portugal, Czechia and Italy. The topic is favourite places in the neighbourhood, and the result will be a shared guide to four towns.
Read more →