Lawn Manor Academy in Swindon has officially reaffirmed its international learning partnership with Glory English Secondary School in Bhaktapur, Nepal, renewing a collaboration that first began almost seven years ago.
The two schools originally connected in 2019 with the shared aim of enriching pupils’ learning through cultural exchange and professional collaboration. When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted education worldwide, Lawn Manor Academy shared its knowledge and experience of effective distance learning, supporting Glory School as it adapted to remote education for its pupils.
Following the challenges of the pandemic, the partnership has now been formally re-established, with Glory School presenting Lawn Manor Academy with a traditional Nepalese ceremonial mask.
The mask was made by skilled local artisans in the Bhaktapur area, which is renowned throughout Nepal for its intricate and expressive ceremonial masks. The gift symbolises friendship, respect, and the shared commitment of both schools to learning from one another.
The partnership has been facilitated by Dr Christine Tipper and Brigid Harkness, two local teachers who have been connecting Swindon and Nepal since 2012. Christine explained: “The creative association between Lawn Manor and Glory School was formed when the Headteacher of Glory School, Shankar Karn Kayasta, visited Swindon and the synergy between the two schools was clear.
“Unfortunately, the pandemic put a stop to continued activity but when I visited Glory School at the end of 2025, they were keen to start again, sending the mask to the Lawn Manor Academy community as a token of love and sign of friendship.”
Staff and pupils at Lawn Manor Academy are looking forward to developing the partnership further, with future plans including sharing best practice and building links between the schools’ pupils that will broaden their global understanding and perspectives.
Marek Koza, Assistant Headteacher, explained: “The pandemic brought our collaboration with Glory School to an abrupt stop but we are hoping to now pick up where we left off. We are hoping to reciprocate their visit and take them some of our teaching resources, which have all been developed based on research-backed effective classroom strategies and routines. When they visited previously, we also gave them resources to take back then too, so we’re keen to find out how they have since developed their own teaching.
“We are also planning to develop connections between our pupils and those at Glory School through writing letters, emails, online sessions. These will focus on sharing experiences in each of the schools and discussions around culture, which is an important aspect of our school.”
Lawn Manor Academy is part of the Ascend Learning Trust. For more information on Lawn Manor, visit www.lawnmanor.org.
