When we got invited to take part in the project in September 2006 (in recognition of the quality of the Sports Leadership work established at BRCC) there were 215 secondary schools involved. BRCC was one of only two schools selected in Sussex.

The project has a number of objectives which are outlined below:

• Learn from (and with) each other’s best practice

• Whole school improvement

• Cross-cultural understanding

• Build local capacity

• Development of ‘global citizens’

• To reach more people in Africa; 50% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa is under 15. Sport is relevant, powerful and reaches large numbers.

• To increase international awareness, improve perceptions, breakdown stereotypes

• To demonstrate the power of sport as a tool for young people’s development

• To support international education objectives in the UK and Africa

• To promote equity in school partnerships

Education values in Mauritius are driven strongly by academic achievement and students move from studying at school to private tuition at the end of the day. There is significantly less value placed on enrichment activities and the value of sport. The school and staff at our link school have embraced the idea of sports leadership and recognise the many benefits it brings to all young people whether as a leader or somebody who benefits from the work the sports leaders deliver.

As part of our agreed development plan between the two schools we had set up for Year 2 that the leaders in both school would visit each other to experience leadership in a different cultures, share expertise and build capacity to ensure the sustainability of this work and its impact on young people and their communities.

In order for this visit to be successful for both partners we need to raise significant funds. The students have been balancing their own academic studies (as they are all in Y11) with the time and commitment needed to fund raise. They have had a short period of time to fundraise and have done well given the timescale.

If your company would be prepared to support this project in anyway we would be keen to hear from them or yourselves.

Rachel Mackinney is the lead teacher at present on this project and you may wish to contact her direct ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ).