AN OSWESTRY-based primary school that welcomed the world into its classroom has picked up a prestigious honour in recognition.

West Felton Primary School, near Oswestry, was awarded the Foundation Level of the British Council’s prestigious International School Award.

This, according to headteacher Helen Hughes, was because of the various projects pupils carried out, such as Community Champions and investing in a scheme from Save the Children, founded in nearby Ellesmere.

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Ms Hughes said that she and her staff were delighted.

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“We’re proud to have achieved this award in recognition of our endeavours to bring the big wide world into our small, rural primary school,” she added.

“Our vision is to prepare our children for life in all its fullness and by exposing them to the wider world we can start journeys which we hope will last a lifetime.

“We hope to build on our Foundation level and extend our global work further over the coming academic year.”

Pupils at the school played a part in the development of their Community Champion scheme.

The Community Champions are voted in democratically by their peers and their role is to plan and implement charity events throughout the academic year ensuring that local, national and international charities benefit from the support of the school.

Ms Hughes added: “Internationally, we have supported Village Water, which is a charity delivering clean water to the remotest regions of Africa and this year, we are supporting Just One Tree who plant and protect trees all around the world.

“We have also chosen to invest in the Save the Children scheme – Wonderbooks – which provides a new book every month about a child from different country, information about that country and fun resources for our children to explore.

“Our international work is reflected in our rich and varied curriculum and includes map skills, flag recognition, comparative studies and environmental investigations.”

Shannon West, head of UK Schools for the British Council, said: “West Felton’s international work has earned the school well-deserved recognition with the British Council International School Award – Foundation Certificate.

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“We are delighted and proud that West Felton is committed to developing a whole school approach to embedding and celebrating international work.

“The dedication from everyone is enriching education and supporting globally aware young people and the development of key skills.

“We thank all involved in this important work; embedding an international ethos across a school can lead to International School Award accreditation, which is the highest level of the award.”