Day 19 - Corfu (Becky)

Ian and I were met by Rtn Andreas at 8.30am this morning for a vocational visit. Our first appointment was with the General Director of Primary Education of Corfu and the Ionian Islands, Stephanos Anastasopoulos and two councelors: Anastasia Liveri and Nicholas Mpakas. We discussed the structure of the English education system, including performance management, targets, progression and testing. It was clear that our current systems are at opposite ends of the scale and for each country to achieve their aspirations a movement towards the middle is required by both.

We moved on to the 12^th Primary School of Corfu and met with Marilena Koskina and Angela Bouziou. It was interesting to discuss the differences in our curriculums and daily timetables. We also talked at length about specialist teachers and the difficulties in teaching foreign languages. Angela invited us to join her 6^th Grade class, where Ian and I were questioned by the children about life in England. We were very impressed with their knowledge of the English language and their ability to ask and answer questions in fluent English.

Beneath the 12^th Primary School is the 1^st School of Special Needs in Corfu. The School teaches children aging from 7 to 14 and is the only Special Needs School on Corfu. We met with Head teacher Panagoiotis Panxgiotou, who explained how the children were taught and supported in their learning. He explained that from next year, children with Special Needs will be partially integrated into mainstream schools.

Attached to the school was also the Kindergarten, catering for children with Special Needs up to the age of seven. We met Head teacher Konstantina, who guided us around her school. She enthusiastically showed us examples of her impressive curriculum, showing us photographs of the children developing a wide range of life skills.

We ended our morning with a visit to the Afternoon school at the 2^nd and 3^rd Primary Schools of Corfu. We met with teacher Efi Pantazi and English Advisor Marianthi Alexandropoulou who explained why Afternoon Schools had been introduced into the Greek education system and the difficulties involved in providing a comprehensive curriculum.