Dream to help Sierra Leone school

By cwinyard

Staff from a school in Great Barr have been in talks with the Home Secretary to discuss ambitious plans to transform facilities at a school in Sierra Leone.

Three members of staff from Great Barr School are back on home soil following last month's visit to Waterloo School.

Following the trip, a representative from Great Barr School met with Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to gain support for the campaign to bring smiles to the faces of students in Sierra Leone.

Great Barr School is hoping to transport much-needed computers to Waterloo School in a bid to bring new IT equipment to youngsters.

Staff at the school in Aldridge Road are also planning to connect the school up to electricity and get them online.

Alex Pearce, head of IT at Great Barr School, along with assistant head teacher Dan Locke-Wheaton and geography teacher Neil Morland, travelled to Sierra Leone to find out how to get the equipment from Great Barr to the African school.

Mr Pearce said: "First of all the school has no power so we are going to need to raise the money to buy a generator and to build something in which to house it.

"Secondly, we are going to need to raise the money to fund a security guard who will live in the computer building to prevent the equipment being stolen.

"We also want to set up a satellite link so that Waterloo School can have direct access to our e-learning resources.

"Finally, we are going to need to put air conditioning in the room to combat the challenges of the African climate, then we have the small issue of how to get the computers from Great Barr to Sierra Leone."

But Great Barr School has hatched a plan to get the equipment to Waterloo School.

"That is easy," said assistant head teacher Dan Locke-Wheaton.

"I had a meeting with Home Secretary Jacqui Smith last week and she was so impressed by the benefits, which both schools could gain, she pledged her support for the project."

Mr Locke-Wheaton added: "The trip has fired us up with a determination to help the children and adults we met, but we also see so many ways in which our pupils can benefit.

"Already some of our students, through their geography lessons, have formed penpal friendships with their peers in Africa."