THRASS GOES LIVE!
SUNDAY-TUESDAY, 25-27  JUNE, 2006

Welcome back to THRASS GOES LIVE! and the next stage of our exciting journey from MPUMALANGA to MILTON KEYNES.

Follow our journey by tuning in to our regular videostreams from locations in South Africa and the UK. See how quickly children learn as they use THRASS and see how impressed the educators, student teachers and Government Ministers are.

We rejoin a group of student teachers from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and Dr Jean Place on their two-week tour of primary schools in the UK. The student teachers have all completed a THRASS two-day course and wanted to see how THRASS was taught in UK schools.

We first see the student teachers and Dr Place, who are en route from Conwy to Cardiff, having a picnic at Builth Wells in Mid Wales. They are reflecting on their experiences in Conwy where they have all visited a wide range of educational establishments and are all amazed that they have managed to do so much in four days. We later see them arriving in Cardiff where Vicky Meadows, the Headteacher, and Lesley Rees, the Deputy Headteacher, at Windsor Clive Infants School are really looking forward to having them in their school.

We next catch up with the student teachers on the last day of their action packed visit and see them with groups of children of differing ability, including a group with special educational needs. Dr Place and the student teachers are amazed at the quality of the teaching as the two Windsor Clive teachers have had no specialist training. The student teachers are also really impressed by the way the teachers get the children throughout the school to work together as a team.

Vicky Meadows describes the student teachers as a delightful group who have brought a real sense of excitement to the school and feels that her own and Dr Place’s roles complement each other. Dr Place is focusing on skilling up fledgling teachers as she knows that is what will make a real difference in South Africa, whereas her role is to ensure the continued professional development of those fledgling teachers and to make sure they are equipped with the very best of knowledge and skills for which she feels THRASS offers excellent opportunities. She feels this has really all come together with the student teachers’ visit.

She finally tells us of the lasting impression her visit to the Kwena Basin Farm Schools has had on her. She can’t get the children and their daily routine out of her mind and feels extremely moved every time she tries to describe the experience to others.

If you would like to view the videostream from the day, click on the link below the pictures on the left.

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