Schools in Partnership

FTCF’s School Twinning project, which aims to partner the all-girl TCF Shirin Sultan Dossa School in Minhala, Lahore, Pakistan with Challney School for Girls in Luton, was launched in February. 

The project came about when, having attended the FTCF evening with William Dalrymple in May 2007, Alan Palmer, Assistant Head teacher of Challney School for Girls, approached FTCF with an idea about students from our respective schools in the UK and Pakistan building educational and social links with each other. The students at Challney were greatly enthusiastic about the initiative and many Challney girls were keen to exchange letters with students from the country of their grandparents’ or parents’ birth. Some asked whether the students at the Shirin Sultan Dossa Campus could read and write English, to which the answer was yes.  English is taught throughout primary and secondary TCF schools in order to equip children with essential literacy skills, and prepare them for further education and employment.

Thirty students from Years 9 and 10 are now involved in the project and have begun exchanging letters with their counterparts in Lahore.  “I want to be a doctor when I grow up, too, just like my pen pal!” explained excited Rabia after receiving her first reply from Pakistan.  The students will learn about the similarities and differences between their schools, a typical day/week at school, an average weekend or evening at home, as well as about favourite subjects, sports, books, hobbies, interests and ambitions. As the project progresses, we hope that participating students who visit Pakistan on holiday will also visit the TCF Shirin Sultan Dossa campus.  

We also hope that the project will lead to greater and first-hand awareness amongst staff, students and parents at Challney School about the true realities of education in Pakistan and the importance of TCF’s work.  Reflecting on the initiative, Assistant Head teacher, Mr. Palmer explains, “We are delighted to have been twinned with Shirin Sultan Dossa School. Our pupils are very excited about being paired up with pen pals in Pakistan. At all times our pupils are naturally thoughtful and reflective young people who take a great interest in the world around them. They hope to learn a lot from this experience and we feel sure that they will. As teachers, we believe that by bringing our two schools closer together our pupils will better understand their place in the world and be better equipped to live in it.”

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