Sierra Leone Week 3 - Life's a Beach

Thankfully the weather has taken a turn for the better in the last week with rain and storms mainly in the night and sunshine and high temperatures in the day. By October we should be fully into dry season. 

Our second weekend in 'Salone' introduced Laura and I to the familiar routine at Academy namely football games on Saturday morning for the boys. It was great to see their skills on the pitch not least goalkeeper John Fillie who, due to an illness of another player, found himself playing up front and then proceeded to score two goals including a diving header. A pile-on then ensued including the coaching team.


On Saturday afternoon I walked into Tombo to watch some premier league football (all games are broadcast on the African sports network) and was guided to "BMX", a multi-screen venue in town.

Tombo Town Centre

"BMX" 

On Sunday morning we went to church with a few of the boys (one was a Muslim who as it turns out also likes attending church) and we were warmly welcomed by the leaders there. Inevitably I jumped on the drums at the end to bang out a beat which not only impressed the students but also persuaded the leader to ask if I had a kit at home and "could I send it?"

Life's a Beach

On Sunday afternoon Laura and I were able to leave the Academy and went to Burreh beach for the first time. Burreh is approximately 6 miles from Tombo. Despite being overcast the sea was unbelievably warm and it was lovely to be out if the academy 'bubble' for a few hours. Laura even hired a boogie board to ride the waves.

Burreh Beach

Two days later a few of us took the opportunity to visit Mama Beach after school which is only 2 miles from the Academy. The next day we were back but this time with the boys for their training.

Mama Beach

Mama Beach

The boys training at Mama

Myrthe is buried. 

Life really is a beach!

Sierra Leone Week 2 - Back in the Saddle Again

Our first weekend in Sierra Leone took us and the students to the National Stadium to watch a 2014 World Cup qualifier - Sierra Leone v Equatorial Guinea. Although neither team could qualify, the match was special because our Academy Manager, Johnny McKinstry is also the Sierra Leone national coach. On national duty Johnny utilises the skills of other CBF staff too so performance analyst Tom and physio Brendan were also on the bench. After stories about a packed stadium for a previous match against Tunisia from the other CBF staff we weren't sure how busy it would be. 

We needn't have worried. The rain and relative importance of the game ensured we had the stadium mostly to ourselves. 

    
The pitch was waterlogged too so a game of silky skills it wasn't. Johnny's Leone Stars were easily the better of the teams and had a 3-0 lead at 70 mins. As the rain lashed down for the last ten minutes I didn't think it would be right to ask for my coat back from one of the boys so with a 3-0 lead I decided to get into the dry on the concourse. I missed two late Equatorial Guinea goals. 3-2, at least a victory. We were delighted for Johnny. 

The Leone Stars (green) take a corner.

       

Back in the Saddle Again

Monday was the start of the school term so at 10.15am the boys were in uniform and waiting for their first assembly. After a rousing performance of the school anthem by the boys, I did my introductions bit and Laura finished with a brilliant 'reflections' section where she used Rudyard Kipling's famous 'If' poem. Later in the day many of the students asked for a copy of the poem "because Miss, we will be men soon".

It is so liberating and exciting to be the head teacher at the Academy as I am able to construct a balanced curriculum based on my educational beliefs. While I recognise the importance and value of academic qualifications, I intend to balance this with a curriculum that encompasses many disciplines including creativity & emotional intelligence and I can do it without Ofsted looking over my shoulder and sending me into a blind panic with my career at stake, like they do with many headteachers in the UK.    

The boys have lessons in the core subjects of English, Maths and Science although English is a second or third language for them. As well as the creativity in football they enjoy (training twice daily) we have also built creativity into their project work, this term they are writing a play which will include a dance (to be performed at Christmas) and in the future we are looking at photography and singing workshops. I have also introduced emotional intelligence/well being lessons into their 'life skills' curriculum with the help of Wellington College who have the curriculum and resources on-line. I have long admired the work of Dr. Anthony Seldon, the Head Master at Wellington who introduced happiness and well-being lessons into his top independent school ever since I read about him in the Sunday Times a few years ago. The life skills curriculum will also cover topics such as sex education and employability/enterprise to name a few.          

There are of course many challenges facing us here. We do not have the 'luxury' of cohorts neatly divided into ages - the boys are different ages and are at varying levels of attainment between primary and secondary. Also some will leave us for college places in USA (at 14 years old) and possibly in England (at 16). One of our boys is already having trials at Cardiff City and soon 3 of them will be at Manchester City. 

We have decided that our form 4 boys will therefore be attempting IGCSE's in Maths, English as an additional language and Biology in one year. Teaching Science has also thrown up some challenges as I described in my last post i.e. we have no Science teachers. Instead, Laura (qualified Primary & SEN teacher) and Sophie (no teaching experience whatsoever) have kindly agreed to teach Biology and Science on top of their other roles.

Some of my form 3 boys playing fraction dominoes.  

We will be treating our form 3 boys as Year 10 students and will be taking their IGCSE's over two years. They will be doing Maths (with me - see pic), English as additional language, English Literature (one of our boys amazingly achieved a D grade last year, having only finished half the paper), Biology and from Monday, Geography (also with me).        

It was a busy but immensely satisfying first week of school. These boys crave learning and are so happy when simply sat with a book. One of my highlights was one of the eldest boys massively giggling when he saw pictures of different species of monkeys in a book. The innocence of it. 

Just brilliant!         

Sierra Leone Week 1 - Barrie's Magic Boots

After a mad Friday travelling to Cardiff for lunch with Premier League footballer Craig Bellamy (of whose Foundation we would start working for the following day) Laura and I arrived in Sierra Leone on Saturday 31st August, delivered safely by 'Gambia Bird', an airline which has just celebrated it's 1st year anniversary. The in flight card made me laugh, clearly the overstating of the role of their parent company 'Germania' was in response to their anticipated a lack of trust by some customers with an African airline. They were probably right.

Our new home

We were collected by the whole team from the Foundation in a minibus which could have been a little intimidating if Laura or I were of a nervous disposition but thankfully we're not and it was great to feel part of the team so quickly. We arrived at the Academy in the dark, had some dinner (all our meals and accommodation are included) and got aquainted with our new house.

It's fair to say it hammered it down with rain in the night - rainy season runs July to Sept - and although a little cloudy on Sunday morning, we saw what a beautiful place we have found ourselves. 

Canteen and Offices to the left. Boy's dorms and staff accommodation to the right. 

The classroom block with our house in the background. 

Work- Education
I have been blessed with the team of teachers I have although we have no Science teachers which means that Laura (Communications) and Sophie (Fundraising and Partnerships) have been cajoled into teaching Science. This will undoubtedly have an impact on their work but I am so pleased to have their support. We are really starting from 'ground zero' which means setting up an assessment framework, lesson plans, schemes of work and a professional development framework for starters. Happily we've managed to get quite a lot done in this first week while the students have returned from their holidays and are settling in again. Lessons start next Monday.

Team Education

Barrie's Magic Boots        

It is not easy leaving friends and family and moving to a different country and Laura and I have both had moments where we have asked "what are we doing here?" Skype has enabled me to have video chats with my family which has of course helped us settle.  

Playing football on Tuesday with the boys and some of the staff was another experience that really helped me settle. I can't think of a more picturesque setting. To my left was the blue of the Atlantic Ocean and to my right were the myriad of greens of the mountain forests. In front of me was the goal and thanks to Barrie's magic boots I managed to score a goal in the game. 

Come Thursday and I scored another in the House tournament. Now just 3 stone to shift.