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On Monday 15 January, Westminster City School welcomed guests from the Japanese Embassy and the Director General of National Institute for School Teachers and Staff Development in Japan, Toshinori Sano.

They left with an exceptionally high impression of the school and having attended a staff training session were high in their praise of teaching colleagues and their passion for personal development.

Mr Brown, Deputy Headteacher at Westminster City School and Mr Moulton, Senior Lead Practitioner had the chance to speak to Toshinori around the school’s approach to teacher professional development here in the UK.

Mr Moulton, Senior Lead Practitioner said:

“It was a pleasure to meet with our guests, who also attended our ‘WCS Way Training’ session on checking for understanding with our classes. We discussed approaches to continuing professional development of teachers in the Japanese and British education systems.

“Toshinori was very keen to hear how teachers in the UK are supported with developing students' deeper understanding and critical thinking skills. Having observed our 30-minute training on one very specific aspect of teaching and learning - using mini whiteboards to gain a snapshot of students' current levels of understanding, Toshinori was also interested to know how INSET days are used to explore aspects of the curriculum in greater depth.  It was fantastic to hear a different perspective and share some of what we are doing at Westminster City School to work for even better outcomes for our students.”

Our guests also had the chance to have a tour of the school and speak to students who are currently studying Japanese – an extra special addition to their visit at Westminster City School.

Geom, who has been studying Japanese since October last year said:

“I was excited to find out that I was selected amongst two of my peers to take our guests on a tour of the school. It was really nice that we were able to interact in Japanese. The reason why I decided to learn Japanese is because I am a huge fan of the language. I absolutely love the culture and history.”

Year 9 student Tolu, who is also studying Japanese, added:

“Due to my interest in the Japanese culture, it was very nice to meet our guests and hear their pronunciation of certain words in Japanese. I enjoy the challenge of learning the language and I look forward to progressing further.”