The British Council, the organisation which promotes cultural and educational exchange between Britain and the rest of the world, has just marked its seventy-fifth birthday. Although the Council still does much of its work overseas - sponsoring English language teaching for instance and supporting international exhibitions and performances of British art and culture - it also works closely with schools and colleges here in the UK.

In the last year the Council has worked with over a dozen schools in Dartford alone. As well as providing French, German and Spanish speaking language assistants to half a dozen of our secondary schools, the Council has helped to set up schemes linking local schools with other schools around the world. Through the Global School Partnerships programme for example, the Leigh Technology Academy has set up with links with a school in India and Wilmington Primary School is working with a school in Ghana. St Albans Road Infant School meanwhile is involved in a partnership with a Peruvian school. The programme aims to raise young people’s awareness of global development issues and in the Council’s words to “foster active global citizenship”.

Another popular British Council programme in Dartford is the eLanguages scheme. This is an online collaborative programme that enables schools to work in partnership with other teachers internationally and share teaching resources. Four Dartford schools, including two primary schools, Knockhall and West Hill, are now involved in the programme. Elsewhere, Swan Valley School, a specialist sports college, is taking part in a project inspired by the 2012 London Olympics to increase children’s access to sport in Zambia.

In an increasingly interconnected world that is growing smaller with each passing year we need schemes like these more than ever. A willingness to engage with other cultures and an appreciation of Britain’s place in the world are essential skills in today’s world. It’s to the credit of Dartford’s schools therefore that they are prepared to so much time and energy in developing these international projects.