Windsor High School and Sixth Form Joins Global Community of Schools
22nd March 2022
Windsor High School and Sixth Form has become part of a select group of global schools by joining the Schools: Partners for the Future (PASCH) initiative.
The school has become one of only 12 schools in the UK and the first within the West Midlands to join the PASCH initiative, which connects young people worldwide through its network of 2,000 schools across 100 countries.
The initiative, which the German Federal Foreign Office launched in 2008, was founded to create and strengthen a global network of partner schools that have special links to Germany. Windsor High School and Sixth Form places a high value on foreign languages and international culture. The school offers German as an option for school and sixth form students, hosts extracurricular language clubs, has over 30 student German ambassadors and runs regular trips to Germany.
The PASCH initiative will further expand the school’s cultural education and provide extraordinary opportunities for students. This includes summer schools, placements with world-leading companies and the chance to study at German universities through a PASCH scholarship.
A ceremony to mark the occasion was held at Windsor High School and Sixth Form with representatives from the German Embassy, Goethe-Institut, the Mayor of Dudley and Windsor Academy Trust CEO Dawn Haywood attending. The ceremony included dance, music and poetry performances from students, as well as speeches from two Windsor alumni; Isobel Cooper, currently studying at Oxford University, and Chadsley Atkins who works for PwC. They spoke about their time here at Windsor studying German, and how it has helped them in their future career paths.
Speaking at the event, Headteacher Mr Lanckham said:
We want our students’ time at our school to be full of exciting and diverse cultural and life experiences, so they can fulfil their academic and personal potential and develop into global citizens. “The PASCH initiative will provide incredible opportunities for our students, allowing them to engage with a global network of young people and schools working together to boost language skills and promote intercultural exchange.”
Dawn Haywood, CEO at Windsor Academy Trust, added:
We want students to aspire and become all and more than they ever thought they could be. The PASCH partnership will support this aim, building meaningful connections worldwide and providing exceptional opportunities for students across our family of schools”.
Julia Gross, Chargé d'Affaires at the German Embassy London, said:
The willingness to look outwards, engage, and learn is very much in keeping with the Windsor way, which promotes respect and responsibility. These values make the school a great fit for the PASCH network.”
The Mayor of Dudley, Councillor Anne Millward, said:
It was a great honour and a privilege to have been invited to the PASCH launch. The school continues to be a beacon in our Borough, and their work with the Goethe-Institut with its network around the world encourages the students to reach and aspire to wonderful achievements. I was inspired by the students’ talents who gave performances of dance, music and poetry and testimonies from alumni who talked about their experiences from their time at this wonderful school.”