Tavernspite CP School has been awarded the British Council's prestigious International School Award in recognition of its work to bring the world into the classroom.

The International School Award is a badge of honour for schools that do outstanding work in international education, such as through links with partner schools overseas. Fostering an international dimension in the curriculum is at the heart of the British Council's work with schools, so that young people gain the cultural understanding and skills they need to live and work as global citizens.

Tavernspite School's international work has involved the children in a wide variety of projects which have given them opportunities to explore celebrations from different cultures and religions. They have learnt about the important issues involved in Fairtrade by raising awareness about fair-trade footballs and taking part in the 90 kilo challenge to eat a child out of poverty. The school raised enough money through the sales of rice to send a child to high school for a year.

They have established a link with Bububu School in Zanzibar and have taken part in a teacher exchanges and teacher training days in both Zanzibar and the Botanic Gardens of Wales. The schools are now working on curriculum materials to develop the themes of 'food sovereignty' and 'biodiversity'.

Another feature of international dimension is the school's link with Wuppertal University in Germany which has allowed us to benefit from placements of student teachers in the summer term.

International links co-ordinator Julie Houghton said: "The students have been a huge asset to the school, the children were keen to attend the German language club and enjoyed cooking specialities from Wuppertal in the cook it club. We were delighted recently to meet the First Minister to share our international projects with him."

All these projects have enriched the eco work that is already on going at the school and provides an interesting and meaningful context for the children's learning.

John Rolfe from the British Council, said: "Many congratulations to Tavernspite School on your well deserved success in being accredited with the British Council International School Award.

"The school's fantastic international work is not only giving the young people a better understanding of the world around them, but it's really making a difference to their future prospects too. Employers are telling us that international skills are just as important as exam results - so everything the school is doing is vital preparation for life in a global society and work in a global economy.

"2012 is a big year for the UK on the world's stage, and the school deserves a gold medal of its own for all its outstanding commitment to a range of fantastic international work.'

On hearing the news that Tavernspite School had received the award, headteacher Kevin Phelps said: "We were delighted to receive this award. It recognises the way in which our whole school community is leading the way in developing a global dimension into the learning experiences of our children. I am particularly grateful to teacher Julie Houghton who has co-ordinated our assessment for this award."