PUPILS at a Worcester school are taking part in a project to compare the English education system with those in other European countries.

The Comenius Project invloves teenagers studying the positive and negative aspects of our own curriculum, how other countries teach similar subjects and how the English system can be improved.

Pupils from the King’s School,Worcester, have been taking part, creating links with schools in Luceé Hoche.Versailles, France, and Domgymnasium, Magdeburg, Germany.

The Comenius Project is backed by the EU and brings together schools from different European countries so that they can plan and carry out a number of ideas during a two-year cycle.

The King’s School was approved by the British Council in 2008 to take part in the project for a second time.

On the first occasion, between 2004 and 2006, it was partnered with the same school in Germany and also ones in Holland and Poland.

Pupils interviewed people in Worcester, Versailles and Magdeburg to find out about their educational backgrounds, work and aspirations, and also their views on Europe.

The results of the interviews from all three countries were then put into a booklet which was presented at a conference in Versailles in February 2009. Six students from the current upper sixth, accompanied by teachers, went to represent the school.

The last conference, held in Worcester last week, involved a group of 30 sixth formers from King’s taking the lead in the project work for this year.

The pupils from each school had researched the education system in their own countries and what makes it distinctive, together with what they perceived the weaknesses to be.

They presented their findings, before choosing to join one of three ‘political’ parties – red: pro national autonomy, opposed to integration of education systems across Europe; amber: the middle way with some integration of education systems across Europe and green: pan European, supporting full integration of education systems across Europe.

The ideas will then be put forward and ‘go live’ at another conference in Germany in February next year.

King’s student Philippa Lucas, aged 16, said: “It has been really interesting. I am interested in languages and thought it would be a great experience for me. The issues we are discussing are also something that I think we can get a good debate about so I decided to sign up to this.”

Tom Bird, 17, said: “Meeting the people from different schools in Europe was a great experience for us and finding out about how they learn. We had visitors from France and Germany who were here for four days and it really was great.

“What we did also find amazing was their English, which was very good. This experience has meant that we now have links and friends in Europe that we can keep in touch with, and that we wouldn’t have had if we didn’t do this project. Hopefully, at the next conference in February, in Germany, we will be able to meet these friends again and pick up from where we were this year.

“ So, we are all hoping we get to go out and our exams don’t get in the way.”

Jess Guilding, 16, said: “The project really was to decide if there should be any changes to the education system in the countries that we have at the moment. To be able to hear about other pupils, schooling was so interesting. We listened and have to decide whether we should have an education system that is the same across Europe or if it should be different, or have some elements that are the same.”

Philippa Lucas added: “Some subjects would be easier to have all the same curriculum but obviously subjects such as history would be quite a touchy subject.

“Others, such as maths and science, perhaps, would be good to have the same and there are also extra-curricular activities such as sport and drama that we have taken into consideration.

“We get into groups to decide which path we want to take on these ideas. We will have some preparation time before we go there in February to put our argument forward.”

The pupils discovered that teenagers of the same age studying in Europe are encouraged to take more subjects, rather than just the three or four they have in England with A-levels.

Exchange students also found this concept very different to what they were used to and were not always sure about the English system.

Harri Cornock, also 16, said their visitors had found the English system of learning very different.

She said: “The French and the German students said they liked the way their system worked. I think it would be very difficult if we changed the system completely.”