Commonwealth Class is a collaborative effort of the British Council, BBC and Commonwealth Secretariat. It is an initiative that provides online debates, teaching resources and interactive activities for schools in the lead-up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games. The programme aims to bring together 100,000 schools, 300,000 teachers and 17 million young people from around the Commonwealth countries through themed learning resources, collaborative projects and online exchanges and forums.
Online debates
The online debates create an opportunity for students from all over the Commonwealth and other countries to express their opinion and views on subjects that are generally common to all. The debates are scheduled twice a month and the dates are available on the Commonwealth Class website. Debate points, teacher resources and introduction videos will appear on the website a week prior to the debates scheduled date.
Learning and teaching resources
The programme will open up possibilities for teachers to incorporate international learning programmes into their curriculum and lessons. There is also the Commonwealth Class education pack, produced by the British Council, which concentrates on educating young people about the Commonwealth values through cross-curricular activities, discussion guides and short films with learning outcomes that link to Commonwealth values, key skills and curriculum subjects.