With the current political changes in Northern Ireland as a backdrop, it was with very good timing last December that Mr Micheal Martin, Minister for Education and Science, launched the North/South "Our Town/Your Town" schools' exchange project at the Ursuline secondary school, Blackrock, Cork. The post-primary schools project - which is now up and running - twins schools from the Republic and Northern Ireland by way of week-long student exchanges between designated schools. With over 400 first and second-year students, and 14 teachers from seven schools in the North and seven schools in the south, the project received £26,000 funding from the international section of the Department of Education and Science with reciprocal funding from the Southern Education Library Board.
Students from a cross-section of schools visit each others schools and stay in each others homes over five days. One interesting aspect of the exchange is a study prepared by the host students for the visiting students on the local geography and history of their home towns. During the visits, students and teachers examine the similarities and differences between each other's local area which helps promote mutual understanding and cultural awareness.
At the launch Micheal Martin described the project as precisely the type of learning which he and his northern counterparts had called for in the context of North/South co-operative contacts in education. The Minister also emphasised the importance of such projects in the interests of reconciliation. Schools ing all the provinces the Republic, while the northern schools are from Down, Armagh and Tyrone. Four of the seven Northern schools have already visited the south, with the southern schools set to travel north in March.
Seamus Kelly, geography inspector for the Department of Education and Science and originator of the project, says: "Many of the children who travelled south had never visited the Republic before and the same can be said for a lot of the students who will be visiting the North in the coming months. The students will eventually produce a booklet documenting their experiences and also what their preconceptions were before visiting the schools." Vivien Kelly, Environment and Society Adviser with the Southern Education and Library Board, is Kelly's opposite number in Northern Ireland.
Close bonds have been formed between the students, with addresses and e-mails being exchanged at the end of the visits. And while Sr Mary Daly, principal of the Ursuline Secondary School in Cork described the initial stages of the exchange as being like a scene from an old dance hall with the students sitting at opposite ends of the room, great friendships were made and tears were shed upon departure. Josephine Looney, geography teacher and project co-ordinator at the Ursuline Secondary School, found the experience hugely beneficial to both teachers and students. "The students really enjoyed it and got a lot from it, not only in an educational sense but they also gained social and research skills."
NORA Dwyer, a second-year student from at Ursuline, had two girls stay with her, Claire and Maeve from St Catherine's College, Armagh. She describes the project as "brilliant, really, really good". Nora prepared a project on the history of Cork which she presented to the visiting students and is very excited at the prospect of visiting the girls in March.
"I enjoyed learning about their culture and their school. It will be great to see them all again," says Claire Smyth, Nora's exchange partner from St Catherine's. "Some of the girls might have thought that it would be a little bit dangerous coming up north, but not now," she adds.
Margaret Martin, principal of St Catherine's and vice-chairperson on the Northern Ireland Curriculum Council, finds the exchange particularly significant in light of the changes happening on the island and is delighted that her students now have the opportunity to experience education throughout Ireland.
Colleen Lappin, co-ordinating teacher at St Catherine's, said: "Pupils and the staff at St Catherine's College really had an enjoyable and rewarding experience and on the return leg of the exchange we look forward to reciprocating this hospitality shown to us." Lappin feels that the timing of the project is of great importance. "The Cork students are definitely looking forward to coming up here, and at this important time in the peace process I think they will definitely enjoy and benefit from the experience."
As well as the Ursuline in Cork, also participating in the project are two Dublin schools - St Dominic's College, Ballyfermot, and Hartstown Community School; two Kildare schools, Confey College and Colaiste Chiarain, Leixlip; one Cavan school, Virginia Vocational, and one Mayo school, St Mary's in Ballina.
The Northern schools include Cookstown High, Co Tyrone; St Catherine's College, Armagh; St Mary's High, Newry, Co. Down; New-Bridge Integrated College, Loughbrickland, Co Down; St Paul's High, Bessbrook, Co Armagh; St Mary's Girls Junior High, Lurgan, Co. Armagh, and Lismore Comprehensive School, Craigavon, Co Armagh.
