Miss Jo Relph, Assistant Head of Essendene Lodge School, Caterham, will not be spending the October half term break planning lessons or relaxing this year. Instead she is travelling to Malawi to share her expertise with Msalura Primary, their International Link school.

Mrs. Theresa Jota from Msalura visited Essendene Lodge earlier in October, looking at how pupils at the preparatory school are taught in classrooms equipped with interactive whiteboards and computers, a far cry from the resources she is used to in Salima, near the shores of Lake Malawi. Mrs. Jota was enormously impressed by the enthusiasm of the pupils of the school council, who ran a cake sale to raise over £200. Along with other contributions from parents, friends and family of Essendene Lodge School and Miss Relph, over £500 has been raised to help girls from Msalura go on to secondary education through the Gifted Girls Fund. The exchange trip has been funded by the British Council, and work for both schools includes issues of gender inequality. Junior pupils at Essendene have been shocked by how girls are treated in countries around the world like Malawi. Miss Relph will be helping educate both boys and girls at Msalura to value girls, and encourage them to complete their education and fulfil their potential.

For further information about Msalura Primary and the Gifted Girls Fund please see http://www.msaluraprimary.com/