Archives for May 2011

If you've been watching BBC News recently you might have spotted the brand new World Class trailer.

The trailer was filmed using stop-motion animation. A technique that involves talking hundreds of still images and in this case... a lot of chalk too.

All the photos are shown quickly one after another to create a seamless sequence of animated action.

If you haven't seen the trailer yet, you can watch it again and again right here on the World Class blog.

'World Olympic Dreams' have made a half hour programme looking back at some of the best stories from their athletes over the last few months. It's also a great chance to see some of the schools in the Olympic Dreams network.

The programme features St Patrick's School in Kenya, which is twinning with Highcliffe in Dorset, in a report by Kieran Fox. You can see young athletes at the school in training in this picture which was taken by the production team.

Loktak Christian Model School, which is twinning with Ballykeel Primary in Ballymena, is shown in a report by Sanjoy Majumder about champion boxer MC Mary Kom. 

Matthew Pinsent explores one of the Olympic Dreams school partnerships between Jehue Gordon's school Belmont Boys in Trinidad and their UK partner Sandwell Academy in West Bromwich.

The BBC and British Council are working together to help schools twin for 2012. Join World Class to get involved.

Watch the film here.

Schools World Service launches

This month, World Class embarked on another exciting project with our partners at the British Council. The Schools World Service has officially launched, bringing international stories to schools everywhere.

Videos, articles and resources for primary and secondary school teachers will become available every month. This month we take a look back at the Revolution in Egypt through the eyes of the pupils from schools in Cairo.

What were the children's reaction to the protests and how has it shaped the minds of the next generation in Egypt?

Find out more here.

Secondary Assembly: Egypt's young activists

Following on from the Schools World Service, this month's Assembly topic was inspired by Egypt's young activists bringing about a digital revolution. We met Mohammed Abbas, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood who helped to organise the demonstrations in Tahrir Square and Asmaa Mahfouz, a young Egyptian activist who became well-known in Egypt for posting a video online demanding people publicly stand up for their rights.

The assembly looks at the role of young people in the Egyptian revolution and how gathering support on social networking sites proved a successful ploy. Opening up the discussion to secondary pupils, we ask: Is it better to speak online or in person?

Find the full video, scripts and discussion prompts to deliver the assembly here.

Counting down to the Olympics

Don't forget to join World Class in the excitement building up to London 2012. We continue to follow the journeys of the schools that are part of the Olympic Dreams Network and if you're new to World Class it's never too late to twin your school for 2012.

Find out more at bbc.co.uk/worldclass.

We’ve been looking at Team Alistair Brownlee’s team in our ‘spotlight’ feature this week, and there have been some great initiatives on display.

James Brindley School challenged Bradford Grammar School to a ‘Rowathon’, with both schools completing the challenge on their home turf.

Knockhall Primary and Bradford Grammar Junior School are hoping to do something similar with their school sports days, and they’ve got a video conference between the schools in the pipeline as well.

Watch the video and read the full spotlight piece.

Get in touch to tell us how your school is getting involved in Olympic Dreams by emailing us at worldclass@bbc.co.uk.