A TEACHER at the Community School of Auchterarder is giving up five weeks of his holiday this summer to help improve education in Malawi.

Physics teacher Dr Archie Marshall flies to Africa at the end of the month and as part of an 18-strong group he will work with staff at a rural secondary school with large class sizes and minimal resources.

The Scotland-Malawi School Improvement Project, part of the Global Teachers Programme (GTP) run by the international agency, Link Community Development, is supported by the Scottish Executive Education Department.

Each of the 18 teachers will live and work in a local community and, drawing on their own extensive experience, they will help develop leadership, management and teaching practice.

“Although I have previously travelled abroad to visit friends working in developing world countries this will be totally different. I’m really looking forward to what will be the experience of a lifetime,” said Dr Marshall.

“Each of us will be living with a host family in a local village where there is no running water or electricity. As well as taking part in the education project I hope to be involved in all aspects of family and village life.

“Although the issues of class size and lack of material resources present enormous challenges in schools, we hope that it will be possible to work hard with our Malawian colleagues to find sustainable solutions, and to help them to realise the enormous value of their own teaching skills.

“I have equal measures of anticipation and apprehension about living with a family in Malawi. It will be a real culture change.

“The placement will provide an amazing experience that I hope to be able to share with the students at my school,” he added.

When he returns to Scotland Dr Marshall will work with children in his school to raise awareness of development issues in Malawi. He plans to forge a long-lasting link with Linthipe Secondary School in Malawi so that local children can make friends with Malawian students and share in each other’s lives.

Every teacher taking part in the project has to raise a minimum of £1000 towards the cost of the placement. Anyone wishing to help Dr Marshall should contact docinmalawi@hotmail.com