A Malvern primary school hit the right note last week having a sing-along with a school in Tanzania over the internet. The global singing was part of a series of demonstrations set up for West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin who visited Great Malvern Primary School and the Wyche Primary School to see how local schools link up with similar schools in Africa. Harriett attended Great Malvern Primary’s assembly where the school set up a Skype call with Martinshamba School in Tanga, Tanzania. The pupils sang songs together, over the internet, gave dance demonstrations and the MP spoke to both sets of pupils, in Malvern and in Africa. The MP also joined pupils taking part in an outdoor cooking demonstration, preparing a traditional dish – uji – similar to porridge. Harriett also visited the Wyche Primary School to see classes on an African theme as well as touring the school and meeting with a group of local school head teachers to talk about the Connecting Classrooms initiative funded by UK aid and run by the British Council, which links local schools to similar schools in Africa. As well as being MP for West Worcestershire, Harriett is also Minister of State with responsibility for Africa. Harriett commented: “I always enjoy trips to local primary schools so this was a double-bonus chatting to lots of young people about how they go about building links with a school many thousands of miles away. “The Connecting Classrooms initiative is a great way to help younger people to gain an understanding of education in other countries and I am pleased so many local schools already participate. “The feedback was overwhelmingly positive and I will take the message back to Westminster that Malvern schools are doing an amazing job sharing learning and experiences with schools across Africa.” Photo: Harriett Baldwin MP tours Great Malvern Primary School with (l-r) Ev Henderson, Nikki Selby, Chris Hansen, Doug Whitfield