School Leaders Education Visit to Wales and England 'Church Schools and Citizenship'

The joint seminar of IV and ICCS was held 6th to10th March, 2012, in Wrexham, Wales. Dr. David Lankshear (Church of Enland) and Dr. Tania ap Sion (Church in Wales) guided the study visit and delivered an overwhelming number of informations about Church Schools in UK. The participants, coming from Christian schools in Germany, Hungary, The Netherlands and Switzerland, got acquainted with the British school system and the history of church maintained schools in England and Wales. They were given an overview of the pedagogical guidelines and convictions which are at the base of the educational activities of the Anglican Churches. Visiting Liverpool Hope University, they learned how teachers for Christian Schools are educated and what Religious Education in British Schools is all about. The meaning of the terme "Collective Worship" in British schools, for instance, was quite surprising to the head teachers from the continent. David Lankshear also presented the system of church school inspections which was designed to a large extent by himself some years ago and which turned out to be very efficient. In Wrexham, visits were paid to an Ecumenical Secondary School and some Anglican Primary Schools and opportunity was given to discuss the mission statements and the daily school life with teachers and school leaders. The inspiring study visit was very much appreciated by the participants and lead to the conclusion that similar encounters should be planned by IV and ICCS more often, in order to allow Christian schools all over Europe to share their experiences.