A LOCAL school has struck up connections with Ukrainian students which has led to a visit from the Mayor of Lviv.
Crompton House in Shaw is one of only three schools in the UK taking part in a social action project.
Students from the Rochdale Road establishment’s Sixth Form have been linking up with counterparts from Lviv Linguistic Gymnasium, as part of the Unbroken Cities network.
It’s supported by a charity called One World Strong, which was set up in response to the Boston Marathon bombing in the United States in 2013, in which the charity’s founder Dave Fortier was injured.
As part of the project, the students have been developing leadership, teamwork and communication skills.Dr Sarah Pannell, Assistant Head of Crompton House Sixth Form, said: “Our students have had three meetings with the students from Lviv so far, and the students have jointly picked two themes for their projects – one on Environment and one on Culture and Traditions.
“Over the next few sessions, the students are going to jointly plan what activity they are going to carry out and how it will promote/develop their theme at the two schools.”
Last week, Andriy Sadovyi, the Mayor of Lviv – the largest city in western Ukraine – paid a visit to Crompton House along with other guests including Mr Fortier from One World Strong; Mandy Iwnicki from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, and Councillor Mohon Ali – Oldham Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Skills.
Alan Fraser, who was also in attendance, coordinates the Unbroken Cities network within the UK.
He said he was “amazed” by the impact the initiative has had and the “strong relationships between students which have clearly been built”.
“The engagement and confidence of both groups of students was impressive,” Mr Fraser said.
“I would like to congratulate both sets of students and staff for making the programme so successful. I would also like to praise both schools for their outward facing approach in providing impactful opportunities for their students.”