A PROJECT has linked teachers and children half a world away.

St Thomas' Primary School in Kendal’s headmistress, Maggie Coles, has just returned from visiting the Open Arms village in Kenya as part of their school exchange project over the half term holiday.

Since 2014, St Thomas school has been linked to the Open Arms Academy and they have exchanged staff members and ideals in efforts to learn from one another.

The school has itself hosted six visitors from Kenya, visiting in pairs on three different occasions.

Maggie said: “We benefit from it in so many ways.

“We gain a different perspective and it’s great for the children.

“It is amazing to have that experience in another country. It’s like you’ve made new friends."

Pupils are invited to write letters to the children of Kenya and may learn about Kenyan artefacts and the country’s culture.

Maggie said: “We hold a Kenya day usually during the summer. Someone comes over to our school, usually bringing a lot of artefacts from their country for the children to see.

“We hold cake sales for our funding on Kenya day. We learn about the Kenyan flag, their dress, cultural practises and their geography."

This was Maggie’s first time in Kenya and she is looking forward to visiting again.

She said: “We teach them sports, leadership qualities, school improvement and mix our curriculum with these.

“In Kenya, they have nothing within their school, so we take anything we can with us and raise as much as we can for them. Their school is much like ours with its church foundation. We hope to open children’s eyes to those who aren’t as lucky as we are. We complain about iPhones at home but over there they don’t even have pencils.

“The people are absolutely delightful. You not only make friends, but you become like family. They invite you to their homes and welcome you to have dinner with them. They may not have the same resources as us, but they have as much passion and drive for teaching and helping children as we do”.