Furness Academy students given once in a lifetime trip opportunity

This week, eight Furness Academy students have been offered a place on the trip of lifetime to New York City later this year. Over 70 students applied for a place on the trip and after a lengthy application process and subsequent interview, the eight places were filled.

The visit has been fully funded by the British Council, to help support enriching experiences for young people. These eight students will be working in partnership with a school in New York City and the Young Historians programme to learn all about the American Revolution. As part of the visit the Furness Academy students will engage in a debate with their American peers about who was right during the Revolution, the British or the Americans? In preparation for this, the eight students will be taking part in weekly extra-curricular lessons to learn all they can about the history of the United States and the causes of the Revolution. They will learn about the history of humankind, the first inhabitants of North America, colonisation and authority to rule and finally why the Revolution happened.

The debate will take place at the partner school in New York in June this year. The students will also have the opportunity to visit the incredible sights of New York city, including Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the Natural History Museum and even take in a show or two on Broadway.

Furness Academy, part of Furness Education Trust, has a long history of international projects like the New York trip. Over the past six years, students and staff have visited partner schools and colleagues across Europe and even as far as China. These trips and projects are made possible through funding provided by the British Council, through Erasmus+ projects, the International School Exchange programme and the Turing Scheme.

Helen Robinson, Deputy Headteacher at Furness Academy and one of the lead teachers on the New York project said, “We are incredibly pleased that we can offer such an amazing opportunity to our students. Projects like this are a key part of our school culture and it is a great that we are able to start running them again. Much of our international project work has been delivered virtually over the past two years, so we are excited for our first face-to-face visit with our new American partner school. The project is incredibly interesting, and we are very grateful to the Young Historians Progamme and the British Council for making this project possible.”

 

Simon Laheney, CEO of Furness Education Trust said, “As a Trust we are proud of the links we have formed with schools across the globe. Although the pandemic has meant we have been unable to travel to visit our partner schools, this work has continued virtually and these partnerships have been maintained and strengthened. The New York trip and our new partners in the United States is just one example of this. The opportunities these projects provide for our young students is incredible and we look forward to developing our trust-wide international programme further over the next year.”

 

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