For the last 12 months, Shaftesbury School STEAM students have been collaborating on an online classroom project with students from Accra, Ghana; bringing learning together across the continents via Shaftesbury School's frontline technology in its ‘future classroom'.

The 'future classroom' is an innovative space where technology supports young people to learn. We want our students to become brilliant owners of knowledge, not just consumers of it. Through our work, we have established international links via an organisation called HundrED.Org. These links have led to international collaborations with schools around the world.

The Ghana project is part of our STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Maths) program. We have 46 ambassadors working on a range of projects.

The Ghana project has been transformative for all involved. 12 students from Shaftesbury (UK) join 12 students from Ghana (Africa) live to learn via Zoom. The lessons have been inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), many of which are being discussed at COP26 this year. The aim of the project on both sides of the Atlantic is to engage the hearts and minds of our young people and inspire others. Students have been working side by side on issues such as climate change, ghost fishing nets and colonising Mars.

We are asking for funding to take this project to a level we did not imagine possible when we started. During a recent lesson, Brightness, a student based in Ghana planted the seed of a possible face to face meeting. She dreams of learning together with our STEAM students and accessing our technology. We want to make that happen, and we need your help.

This fundraising page was originally set up to raise £10k to bring the students from Ghana to the UK for a week. When this goal was not met, we changed direction and have been busy building a Future Classroom in Tema, near Accra.

Our collaboration focuses on social justice and the drive to serve a bigger planetary need. Africa needs to solve its own unique issues concerning social justice and climate change, embedding modern and mostly western technology in the solutions it reaches. Many of these issues are prevelent in both settings as equally, we believe Western children need to learn about Africa and the different problems with which its people are confronted.

We have sent £750 to Africa ICT Right the organisation building the Future Classroom. With these funds, they have secure a property and fitted security bars, air conditioning and repairs. The next investment will be to add electricity points and then technology and furniture to fill the space.

To find out more, please click the links below.

Our Future Classroom project

Shaftesbury School website

Shaftesbury School Instagram

Africa ICT Right