Balinda Richardson's visit to the UK is now complete and he has returned safe and well to Uganda and Kyebambe Girls' Secondary School.
 He arrived in Banchory on the 8th September on a typically cold raw day and almost the first thing we had to do was take him out to buy a warm sweater.
By 7 pm he was delivering a talk to the Rotary club of Banchory Ternan where he was warmly received as he described his own background and the situation in Kyebambe. The following day was spent visiting Ashley Road Primary and Miltimber Primary Schools in Aberdeen
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There he was able to observe teaching methods and classroom organisation and he left with ideas to take back to Uganda with him.
Friday was a day off and we took him to Edinburgh where he was able to visit the Scottish Parliament and see something of the capital city although he did not see a great deal of Scotland on the way there as the weather was absolutely foul and visibility was greatly curtailed.
Most of the rest of his visit was spent in Banchory Academy where he talked to all of the senior staff individually to gain an understanding of their roles in management of the school. He was also able to spend considerable time in the Science department gleaning a great deal of information from observing classes and discussing methods with the science staff. The Mathematics department was also very helpful as was one of the Principal teachers of Guidance who briefed Richard on the pastoral care and careers guidance given to students in the school. He also followed a first year class on their timetable for a day. He was impressed with the idea that certain areas in the school were designated as Maths rooms or English rooms etc. as in Kyebambe and in many Ugandan schools this does not happen. Class rooms are S1 rooms or S2 rooms etc. and teachers move to the classes rather than the other way about.
On the Sunday before his departure Richard addressed the congregation of St Machar's Cathedral in Aberdeen and then went along to the Sunday School where he was quizzed about Uganda.
Richard's trip to the UK has been a resounding success. He has returned to Uganda brim full of ideas which he plans to discuss with his colleagues with a view to introducing those things which are appropriate. Clearly some things will not be possible because the resources of Kyebambe bear no relation to much of what he saw in Banchory but Richard is well aware of this and already has a firm grasp of how to set about implementing change. You can see more pictures of the visit by clicking on the link below.
Balinda's visit to Scotland
 


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