By Alex Dowdalls

WORLDLY pupils at Carlibar Primary are doing their bit to put the school on the global map.

The Carlibar Road primary has successfully achieved the Foundation level of the British Council International School Award.

To earn the accolade, a group of pupils in primaries four, five, six and seven, along with class teacher Susan MacKay, led the school in developing international education.

Projects included learning about other countries, arranging visits by people from various cultures, and adding new languages – including Mandarin Chinese.

Headteacher Siobhan McColgan said: “I am delighted the work that Carlibar Primary School has been doing to develop International Education has been recognised by the British Council.

“Through working on the International School Award, children in Carlibar are developing a better understanding of the world in which they live.

“They are improving their understanding and respect of different cultures and societies and are now developing as global citizens who understand that they can influence and make a difference in the world.”

A spokesman for the British Council told the Barrhead News: “Carlibar Primary School recognises the important contribution the British Council International School Award can make in helping the school focus on developing learning.

“We offer our congratulations to them on achieving Foundation Level. They have clear aims and values and regard international education as an opportunity to provide exciting learning opportunities and experiences for pupils.

“Importantly, they also acknowledge the role the school can play in encouraging an awareness and understanding of the changing diversity within their community. To achieve this, they have adopted the Curriculum for Excellence Modern Languages 2+1 programme linked to teaching and learning about French culture and language.

“The school has established links with the local Confucius Institute to introduce Mandarin Chinese into the curriculum.

“They have also demonstrated the efficient involvement of other relevant programmes to support their aims. The Foundation Level application provides a detailed summary of the ‘Around the World’ topic, which defines the success of their cross-curricular approach to learning.

“Pupils are engaged in real-life opportunities to engage with the culture of different countries through an e-twinning project. Through a series of creative experiences, they were provided with excellent opportunities to practice and improve their French Modern Foreign Language skills.”