Anglo-Indian conference comes to Wirral

A ground-breaking link-up in educational thinking will see 50 senior teachers from the Indian subcontinent come to Wirral later this month for their first ever international conference.

The ‘All Our Futures’ conference will examine the national pressures common to secondary education in both societies and the ways in which schools have found local solutions to these pressures.

The aim is to share these solutions with colleagues who, while they may come from different social, cultural and economic backgrounds, have one thing in common; their desire to prepare all their young people to cope with, and achieve in, all their futures.

The ‘All Our Futures’ Conference has been organised by the Aspire Trust – a social enterprise based at The Oldershaw School that has grown out of an Education Action Zone in conjunction with EduExcellence, India.

Oldershaw Headteacher Steven Peach said: “I am immensely proud that such a groundbreaking conference is taking place at Oldershaw and our students will be helping delegates and speakers throughout.

“Educators have a duty to teach children so that they can flourish in the real world – and the world is becoming a smaller place. It is important that in such a globalised society, we learn from others doing very similar things in different cultures.”

Aspire Director Nick Owen said: “When we were asked to organise the conference we wondered how we could possibly talk about secondary education in a rural school in India compared with somewhere like Wirral. But it became clear that, fundamentally, the issues facing UK schools were exactly the same as the issues facing Indian schools.”

Cllr Sheila Clarke, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Lifelong Learning, added: “I am very proud that a conference like this is taking place in Wirral and hope it will prove an excellent learning environment for all the delegates.”

The conference will take place between June 28^th and July 2^nd at The Oldershaw School, a Business Enterprise College, in Wallasey.

Delegates will stay at Liverpool Hope University. A conference reception will be held at Thornton Hall Hotel on Monday 28^th June and a Conference Dinner, sponsored by Liverpool John Moores University on July 1^st.

A specially commissioned farewell event involving local artists, teachers and pupils will take place at Oldershaw School on the final day of the conference.