International co-operation all adds up for Sunderland College students

Professor Florea (Maths teacher- Marin Preda), Martin Scott (Head of Maths Sunderland College), Emilia Ilie (from Exe. - A Marin Preda partnership), Marinela Georgescu (Maths Teacher Marin Preda), Gerard Elder (Learning Innovation Manager), Monica Oprea (Marin Preda), Liliana Stefania Stroi (Marin Preda) & Michael McKie (Head of Partnerships & Projects Sunderland College).

Students are working in partnership with a high school in Romania to develop innovative learning resources for maths.

Staff and students from Marin Preda High School in Bucharest spent a week with their European counterparts at Sunderland College, as part of a Video Learning in Education project.

Human Bingo activity for Marin Preda and Sunderland College students to find out more about each other and establish friendships

The project, which is co-funded by Erasmus+, involves creating animated learning resources for 40 maths units to help motivate students and improve their maths skills.

Sunderland College staff and students are developing 20 units for GCSE Maths topics, while Marin Preda are developing 20 maths units aimed at supporting their students’ transition touniversity.

Students studying digital qualifications at Sunderland College also provided their expertise by creating some of the animations for the videos.

Martin Scott, Head of Maths at Sunderland College, said: "We have really enjoyed working in partnership with our colleagues from Romania by poolingour expertise and sharing best practice.

"The animated units will be a positive addition to our learning resources and will allow students to gain an insight into the topic areas in an interactive way, as well as using them for revision.

"Our students were great ambassadors for the College during the visit. They made new friends and were able to learn about a different culture. We are looking forward to completing ouranimated units and embedding them in our teaching.”

It was the first time the students have met since the two-year project began last summer. The Marin Preda students also experienced life as a student at Sunderland College by attendingclasses and visiting the local area to sample the North East culture.

Sixteen-year-old Chloe Gillan from Shiney Row took part in the project and is studying Level 1 Professional Cookery at Sunderland College, she said: "I really enjoyed working with the Romanian students and taking part in the activities. I made some new friends and showed them around the local sights in Sunderland, Newcastle andDurham."

Erasmus+, a specialist European Union programme for education, training, youth and sport, runs from 2014 to 2020 and organisations are invited to apply for funding each year for life-changing activities.

Young people can study, volunteer and gain work experience abroad, to develop new skills, gain vital international experience and boost their employability.