The Case Study, used in conjunction with the Broadening Horizons 10-minute DVD linked below, serves as a resource to share the learning from this pilot project with teachers, schools, organisations and all others who are interested in undertaking a similar linking project and learning from our experience.

This Case Study details the framework, the chronological process and sample resources that were used to develop and implement this pilot project, and offers guidance and lessons learned - from which others can devise their own particular school linking projects.

Future Plans

We are in the process of building on the learning from this pilot project, and in the New Year a meeting of key stakeholders will take place to discuss a strategy for taking the rural-urban model forward. Please do watch this space for future developments, and if you or your school are interested in taking part in a similar linking project please contact Tony Breslin.

Programme Summary

A group of 15 Year 8 pupils from Tom Hood Science College in Leytonstone, East London and a group of 14 Year 8 students at Sir James Smith's Community School in Camelford recently completed this pilot project, which was launched and managed by Diversity and Dialogue, and was made possible through the support of The Pears Foundation and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

Building on Sir Keith Ajegbo's recommendation from his 2007 Diversity and Citizenship report to undertake school linking as a means to promote community cohesion, the pilot project was a tremendous success in broadening the students' horizons and building the confidence of the schools to partake in such an innovative undertaking.

The students returned from both exchanges with a heightened awareness of themselves and others, having formed new friendships and gained new insights into the lifestyles and perspectives of young people with varying and diverse backgrounds who are living in different communities to their own. Throughout the project the students engaged with the questions of, "Who am I? "Who are you?", "Who are we?" and "Who do we want to be?", exploring the complexities of diversity in contemporary UK life and the possibilities this affords to create inclusive, cohesive and dynamic communities.

Student Reflections

Reflecting on their experiences, one student from London remarked, "I think I've learned how to make other people from other places feel a bit safer in a place they thought was violent", while another said, "It doesn't matter if people live in different environments and with different lifestyles, we're all the same and we will always have things in common; no matter how different, people will always be people!"

One student from Cornwall explained how they now realise "that not all people in London are like the people you hear about on the news", while another related how the experience confirmed the importance of not "judging people by where they are from, and remembering others can be fascinated by something we see everyday."

Preparation for the exchanges

In preparing for the visits, preparatory discussions exploring personal identities and expectations for visiting their partner schools were held at both schools. In addition, the pupils worked with The Rainbow Collective - a video and documentary company specialising in community cohesion projects with young people - to produce video diaries about themselves, their schools and their local communities, which they shared with each other before the exchanges themselves.

The London leg

The first half of the exchange took place from 23- 26 June 2008 when the group of 14 students and three teachers from Sir James Smith's CommunitySchool travelled to London. Together the students visited the Olympic site in Stratford, the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, took a boat from Greenwich to Westminster, met with Harry Cohen Labour MP for Leyton and Wanstead at the House of Commons, visited the ‘Psycho Buildings' exhibition at the Hayward Gallery and attended a performance of ‘Into the Hoods' in the West End.

The Cornish Leg

The second half of the exchange took place in Cornwall from 14 - 18 July 2008. As well as attending in-school art and drama lessons, the students visited and learned about a local organic farm, cycled along the Camelford Trail from Wadebridge to Padstow and visited the Eden Project in Bodelva.

• Download the case study
• Watch the ten minute video