A secondary school in Hove welcomed educational leaders from around the world during their stay in Brighton for an international conference.
More than 20 educational researchers, scholars and leaders spent the morning at Blatchington Mill School on Friday 4 July.
The visitors were members of the prestigious International School Leadership Development Network (ISLDN).
And they visited the school as part of their attendance at the British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society (BELMAS) conference, which was taking place in Brighton over the weekend.
Blatchington Mill, one of Brighton and Hove’s largest schools, was approached to host the visit by the chair of BELMAS Deb Outhwaite.
Dr Outhwaite said: “I knew of the school’s head teacher and the tremendous work she has been doing to drive educational outcomes and place collaborative community education at the heart of its vision through our national WomenEd work.
“I feel that it is a unique setting, in our current English landscape, for our international delegates to gain insight into the issues, challenges and opportunities of secondary education at such a successful local school, near to where we are holding this year’s annual international conference.”
During their visit, the guests were given a comprehensive tour of the school, learning about its diverse offerings and extensive curriculum. They also observed lessons and met students.
A key part of their experience was a roundtable session with the school leadership and governors to discuss education in Brighton and Hove, address day-to-day challenges and ask questions.
Blatchington Mill head Kate Claydon said: “While we only had a few hours, it was important that our visitors had the chance to see Blatch in action.
“We are very proud of our students, staff and school and it was wonderful to be able to share that with others.”
The international visitors had travelled from countries including the US, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and South Africa to join over 200 other delegates for the BELMAS Conference at the Leonardo Royal Waterfront Hotel in Brighton.
The theme of the conference is “Turbulence, reform and development in educational leadership, management and administration”.
And the visit to Blatch was intended to offer valuable local insight into the dynamics of Brighton and Hove’s educational landscape.
James Tulley, the co-chair of governors at Blatch, said: “As a school, we value partnerships and collaboration, so being able to build international networks and relationships was very rewarding.
“We know all schools work incredibly hard to ensure their students thrive and we were deeply honoured to have been chosen to represent a local school in the city.”
