Each February, UWE Bristol Secondary Education students have the opportunity to take part in a two-week teaching placement with our partner schools in Richards Bay. This year, four students travelled to South Africa to volunteer at Khula High School and Gwejobomvu Secondary School, embracing opportunities for cultural exchange, professional development and collaborative learning.
The placements offer the students a unique chance to experience teaching in a new context, working in classrooms that often have larger class sizes and fewer resources than those in the UK. Despite these challenges, the students quickly adapted, drawing on their training and creativity to support learners and contribute meaningfully to school life. As always, the warmth and generosity of our partner schools played a huge role in making the experience both rewarding and memorable.
A key feature of the February visit is our annual collaboration day with the University of Zululand (UNIZULU). This year’s theme focused on classroom behaviour management, offering a chance to share insights from Project Zulu’s recent work with partner schools and begin exploring this topic with UNIZULU colleagues. Academics from both institutions came together to compare approaches and discuss the realities of behaviour management in both countries, including the persistence of corporal punishment in some South African schools. These conversations offered valuable insights, reinforcing the value of cross‑cultural professional dialogue.
Students from UWE and UNIZULU also spent time together during the visit, touring the UNIZULU campus, attending a lecture and exchanging experiences of student life in both South Africa and the UK. The following day, the UNIZULU group visited the UWE students at their placement schools to observe lessons, share feedback and discuss pedagogies, continuing the spirit of mutual learning.
Following the collaboration day, UWE Senior Lecturer in Secondary Business Education, Nicola Rew began data collection for her master’s research, conducting interviews with educators across our partner schools in the Madadeni township. Her study will evaluate the impact of Project Zulu’s behaviour management workshops, which have been attended by hundreds of educators over the past two years. The findings will help us understand what is working well and where further support may be needed, ensuring that future workshops are informed by evidence and grounded in the experiences of our partner schools.
The team also met with school leaders in Madadeni to plan for the July-August volunteering period, during which more than 40 UWE students and staff from a range of disciplines will work alongside partner schools on eight projects across the district. These planning meetings are essential for ensuring that our work remains collaborative, responsive and aligned with the priorities of our partners.
As always, the February trip was a reminder of the depth and value of our partnerships in KwaZulu-Natal. We are grateful to all the schools, educators and academics who welcomed us so warmly, and we look forward to building on this momentum throughout 2026.