Ask any teacher and they will tell you how tough it is to engage a classroom of students. Wherever in the world you are, it can be challenging - especially when you don’t have access to some of the technology we take for granted, such as computers and printers.

Solomon Ayitevie, an English teacher from Ghana, makes learning fun for his students. Solomon has been involved with Warwick in Africa since it began working in his school three years ago. The programme has had a real impact on how Solomon teaches and has contributed to a marked improvement in the children’s exam results.

Warwick in Africa is a voluntary scheme run by the University, where each year students travel to schools in South Africa, Tanzania and Ghana to teach English and Maths. As well as learning from the student volunteers, our students learn from the teachers involved in the scheme, share ideas and learn about their culture.

Solomon finds his job really rewarding and can see the benefit the scheme has on the schoolchildren. “Their results make me feel like ‘what I’m doing is paying off’. I believe that we learn for life, so I feel that, as teachers, we’ve also benefitted a lot from this programme.”

“When the children finish our school and go to secondary school, it’s really reflected in their results and the way they respond to questions. People ask them, ‘which school are you from?’ and, when they say our school, people think, ‘OK, they are really learning’. Warwick in Africa has complemented our effort, the children are doing really well and we appreciate it.”

To see how else Warwick in Africa is making an impact, visit the programme’s webpages.

Photo credit: Hasan Suida