Wigan deputy head sets off for Africa to discover how her pupils are helping their Ugandan counterparts

Sarah Taylor, deputy head of Westleigh Methodist Primary in Leigh, is undertaking a 10-day visit this month to see first-hand how a programme her school is involved in is impacting the education in Ugandan classrooms.

The visit has been organised by Edukid, a charity which helps children growing up in poverty or confilct to access education.

Mrs Taylor said: “I will be heading over as part of a team of about 40 teachers, secondary students and Edukid staff from across the country to learn about how the education systems works in Uganda.

“This really is a once in a lifetime experience and is the next step of our work that has been developing over the last two years."

The Westleigh Methodist Primary is one of six schools that make up the Epworth Education Trust which have been supporting two Ugandan students each by carrying out a variety of activities to raise funds for their African peers.

As part of the trip Mrs Taylor will visit both Kirombe Primary school and Kich Goma school, both situated in the northern region of Gulu.

During her visit she will take lessons and discuss how the Epworth project can support their future goals.

She will be taking plenty of letters written by her scholars along with her to give to the Ugandan and she also hopes to be returning with some correspondence for her own pupils and that the children can connect despite being thousands of miles apart.

Upon returning Mrs Taylor will be sharing her experiences with the 2,000 schoolchildren across the Epworth network and she hopes that her trip can be the first of many and that they can continue to provide support for African students.

Network CEO Julie-Ann Hewitt said: “Our aim is simple. As a trust we want to ‘do all we can’.

"That is not just in terms of us helping others, but also in finding innovative ways to make learning across our schools as exciting and engaging as possible.

“Our pupils get as much from this partnership as I hope the 12 children from Uganda receive."