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CILT-SLC case study	CILT
Maidstone Grammar School	Community matters!

Promoting Polish culture

Having successfully hosted a Hungarian British Council Comenius Assistant in 2006, Maidstone Grammar School decided to bid to run a new British Council Comenius project this year jointly with two primary partner schools: Allington Primary and South Borough Primary schools.

Michal Rozmyslowski from Poland has just completed a nine-month project in the three schools, in which he focussed on developing an understanding of Poland, Eastern Europe and the question of economic migration.

Maidstone has welcomed a large influx of Eastern European workers and one major aim of the project has been to promote a positive image of Polish culture and explain the reasons for economic migration within the European Union.

Sarah Bone, the project coordinator at Allington School, says “Michal has both inspired and captivated the children with everything Polish”. Students have learnt Polish songs, studied Polish culture and heritage and this has enriched their intercultural understanding. “This has been a fantastic experience”.

In both primary schools Michal has been able to help with settling new Polish – and German - students into the school and has liaised with and supported families.

Michal has benefited greatly from his time in Maidstone and has progressed enormously with his confidence in English and in his appreciation of English customs. He has helped with supervision at the secondary school and has taught a Polish evening class to supplement his British Council Comenius grant.

Michal says “I enjoyed the project very much and it was nice to hear students talking to me in Polish. It was a great time for me.”

The British Council Comenius scheme is a wonderful opportunity for UK schools and for the assistants who get the chance to work in the UK. All three of the schools involved in this project will be applying again in the future for a Comenius assistant. All schools can find out details of how to apply from the British Council; applications for 2009-2010 must be completed by February 2009.