THE skills teachers Alan Vian and Chris McConnell use in their everyday jobs are going to be put to use in Africa this month.

Already seasoned hands, the two teachers at Hooke Court Study Centre aim to pass on their expertise to teachers in Malawi.

Mr Vian, who is also the Lyme Regis town crier, said he was thrilled to be going again.

He said Hooke Court had a charitable arm whose aim was to support development work in education in Africa.

He said: “Last year we went into Zambia and worked with children in the bush.

“This year we are going to work with a federation of schools in Malawi developing different types of teaching techniques and working with the teachers out there and doing teacher education.”

Mr Vian said last year had been very exciting.

He said: “The children responded amazingly well to what we were trying to get them to do to develop their own personal approach to life.

“It was more difficult persuading the teachers that was the way we taught.”

All five have volunteered to take part in this amazing venture during the summer holidays.

Their aim is to use their teaching skills and experience along with programmes used at Hooke Court to help the children access education outside the classroom.

Their project is to provide practical team building, communication and curriculum related programmes to children from 12 different schools in a rural and remote area of Malawi.

Whilst visiting the schools in this region, Mandy and Pete Cooper, owners and founders of the Hooke Court Residential Study Centre, were overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and interest of both pupils and teachers.

They said: “This is our second year to take our incredibly successful and popular programmes from Hooke Court to Africa.

“We sincerely hope that each year more and more teachers will volunteer to help us to provide a little enjoyment for these children who otherwise live in a very basic world.”

For further details contact Sarah at sarah@hookecourt. co.uk or call 01308 862260.