An amazing 10 days have sadly come to an end. Our students have been excellent in all that they have done and participated in. I am so proud to have come to Bright Future School for the second time. May our links continue.
Meral

This has been an amazing 10 days which has sadly come to an end. The time spent in Bright Future School has been very rewarding and I feel very fortunate to have been a part of this again. May the school links continue and I look forward to returning in the future.
Karen

I cannot praise the seven Stoke Park students enough for their hard work, dedication, enthusiasm and resilience over these ten days. They have surpassed my expectations and after two previous visits to Uganda with some fabulous students, they were high expectations! As we sit here for our final meal together as a group, with Director Christine, Headteacher William and Martin I look around at the smiling faces, everyone of them proud of their own achievements. They have overcome some challenging changes to their normal home environment and taken everything in their stride. This week in school, agreed by all, has been a real success. The work we have been doing this week, we have been told, will now form a large part of Bright Future Speech day in November when p7 graduate and that the teachers are keen to develop their drama, creative writing and their child centred learning. I cannot thank Christine and the staff at Bright Future School enough for their hard work, support and hospitality and for going along with everything I have suggested we do! The enthusiasm to learn from both students and staff has been second to none. I am honoured to be linked to Bright Future School and long may these relationships continue.
As Hannibal from the A Team says "I love it when a plan comes together"
Caroline

 The whole experience has been amazing, now that we are waiting to leave it's hard to believe the amount we have actually accomplished in one week. There are too many high points to count and I feel truly blessed to have been given this opportunity and spend 10 days with some amazing people. The students and teachers of Bright Future never seized to surprise me with their continuous enthusiasm for everything we had to offer them and they will always stay with me.
Kate Walker

It is hard to put into words how great this trip has been, I know I will return home and everyone will want to know what it was like. But it can't be explained, you need to see it to understand the trip. More than this we have met some amazing people which we will never forget, Bright Future is a truly amazing school. During this trip our team has really gelled and even received some new members from foxford. The past 10 days have been fantastic and I will never forget everyone we have met and what we have experienced.
Liam Hudspith

This journey has been such a blessed experience to have taken part in as an individual & part of a team. Reflecting on the actual work rate everyone has achieved in the time, being here is completely phenomenal in every single attribute. There are countless memories which have most definitely inspired me to a level where I will carry them with me for the rest of my life. The people that I have met & interracted with whilst being in Uganda are the most gracious people that I have ever met on the face of the earth to date, being here makes me love the motherland (Africa) to a whole new extent.
Rio Alexander Evans

I honestly don't know where to start, there has not been a single moment in the last 10 days that hasn't been enjoyable. It takes a couple of days to realise where you actually are, as this situation is so unreal and even now I can't quite believe it. Working in the school has been great,being greeted with such amazing hospitality by the staff is something I am eternally grateful for, as well as having the opportunity to meet some wonderful and truly inspiring children. I could probably write for hours but I won't. But I'd like to end by saying thank you to Miss Kirk, Mrs Osman and Karen for being so supportive and helpful, I am truly overwhelmed by what I've been able to experience. I just wish I wasn't going home just yet!
- Emily

The last 10 days have been so full of excitement and emotion that it's hard to believe we are actually leaving - especially as no one wants to go! Working in Bright Future was amazing, the children and staff are so kind and welcoming that you instantly feel at home. Seeing the children perform their plays on Friday made me realise how much has been done this week, and just how brilliant all the students are! It's hard to summarise every amazing memory from this trip into one paragraph, but I know I will remember it all forever. Thank you to Miss. Kirk, Mrs. Osman and Karen for all the support (and for putting up with us!) Until next time Uganda!
-Lucy Joyce

For me, this experience has been more than I could have ever expected and I can't imagine waking up tomorrow and not traveling to Bright Future School. Everybody I have met within these last 10 days have been absolutely wonderful and are some of the greatest people I could have ever have the pleasure meeting. The fact that we are leaving today hasn't quite hit me yet as I have grown used to the current routine and I have been so overwhelmed by how much the children and the staff have impacted me and how much work everyone has done together with so little time. I will miss everyone dearly and even though it is upsetting to be leaving, I am glad that I'm leaving with newly made friends.

Yaz

To experience this life changing trip twice has been an absolute priveledge. Reuniting with old friends and making new ones has made our trip and all the work leading up to the trip worthwhile. Many a time this week, I have sat back and thought about just how lucky we are at home. The dedicated staff and talented students of Bright Future never seize to amaze me with their enthusiasm to learn and their hospitality. Friday was the highlight for me. Celebrating, dancing and ending an emotional week on a high . I never knew other people's happiness could be so infectious. I would like to thank the best teachers Miss Kirk and Mrs Osman for giving me the opportunity to return to the country that is starting to become my second home. Also , I would like to thank Karen for the support  and being there for us all. I can't wait to return !!

Bianca

Today we went white water rafting - a well deserved day of fun after a week of working endlessly. We left our hotel at around 7am to start the journey to Jinja. 

The journey took us around 3 hours and it was fascinating to see other areas of Uganda. For example we were able to see sugar and tea plantations- something we haven't seen in the bustling city of Kampala. We also drove through some rural areas which was interesting to see.

Upon arrival , we were greeted by our instructors and given a light breakfast. We then got kitted out in our life jackets, helmets and paddles. We were all set to go!

Before going down the Rapids, we were shown several positions and what to do if the raft flipped. We were now ready. The first rapid was grade 5 out of five possible grades. Everyone felt slightly apprehensive but extremely excited at the same time. The drop down the Rapids was incredible and we were shocked that nobody fell in. 

The stretch of river we covered was 21km. By lunch time we were all paddling in sync. Lunch was had overlooking the river which enabled us to see the course we were going to take in the afternoon.

After lunch , we went down four more Rapids which were grade 4. We thought we had the hang of it until the last rapid where Bianca and Miss Kirk were launched out of the boat. Bianca was saved by the safety kayak and Kirky was saved by our instructor. 

After viewing the pictures of the last rapid, we were surprised only two of us were wiped out. There are some great action shots , particularly some of Emily flying through the air and clinging on for dear life. 

The day was extremely fun and a great way to end our time in Uganda . 

Friday saw the event we had been eagerly anticipating all week. It was the day everyone had been working hard towards.

We arrived at Bright Future at 8am to fit in last minute rehearsals before the madness ensued. The day entailed an abundance of performances including dances,poems and songs. The main focus of the day were our plays. The Little Red Hen ( led by Kate) , The Enormous Turnip( led by Liam ) The Lion and The Mouse, The Boy who cried wolf ( led by Yaz ) and How the Zebra got its stripes ( led by Emily. ) 

The whole school were out to show their support along with many of the parents. They had all come to see the biggest event of the school year. Everyone was enthusiastically involved with the Bright Future Staff performing their comical play ,' Teacher by Mistake' , where the headteacher , William, dressed up in drag. The staff and students of SPS also got into the spirit and performed the ' grasshopper and the ants' ; although all of the other plays put us to shame. 

The day also involved two fashion shows ; one by the early years students and the other by Stoke Park students . Bright future paraded fancy dress, that many of you kindly donated, whilst SPS modelled recycled bin bags fashioned into dresses and skirts. 

After the performances, speeches from William (the headteacher ) Christine (director ) and Miss Kirk. All of the speeches were highly emotive and enabled everyone to see the impact that they have had on one another in such a short space of time. Bright Future kindly gave us some lovely personalised gifts as a sign of appreciation.

After the speeches, we headed inside for our last lunch - made by Betty. It is safe to say we will us miss her amazing food. 

Following lunch , we all headed outside to dance with the students. The disco to dance lasted for hours before we had to say our final goodbyes. It was fantastic to see everyone enjoying themselves , particularly the students as their happiness is so infectious. 

As expected, the farewell was emotional. We had all bonded with the students and were not ready to leave. Each of us,received piles of letters from the students detailing how much they have enjoyed spending time with us. It is fair to say we will miss them a lot.

We then has a mad dash back to the hotel where we hurriedly got ready for farewell drinks with teachers of Bright Future. The venue had a live band and lots of dancing took place. A great time was had by all. Again, we were not ready to leave as we were enjoying ourselves so much. We even ended up having a dance in the car park , much to everyone's amusement.

Once back at the hotel , we went straight to bed to prepare for a long day of rafting on the river Nile . 

Another fantastic day at Bright Future School. Another chaotic start to the morning with over 130 students playing balloon relays..madness! Yaz and Lucy played heads down and thumbs up, others played timebomb and communication games before the groups started practising their plays with masks and costumes. We were then asked to set up a fashion show so we raided the fancy dress and soon 40 small children, some as young as 3 were dressed as princesses, cheerleaders, power rangers and superheroes. They were taught how to walk the catwalk and pose which was hilarious! This is going to be added to the programme for tomorrow. Large gazebos have been delivered and put up and stacks of chairs arrived - this drama idea is turning into an extravaganza! The programme for tomorrow includes songs, dance, skits, plays and poetry. Parents have been invited to attend the day tomorrow. The students worked with their groups and practiced their plays on the stage area, the students improving upon their actions and their delivery. At this rate the worst performance will be ours! They are putting us to shame! After another amazing lunch from Betty we spent the afternoon with a final dress rehearsal for all groups. We then travelled along some crazy roads to Kampala City centre to the money exchange and the tourist African art centre to buy mementos and presents for family and friends. We all got involved in the expected bartering and I should warn Mr and Mrs Hudspith now to expect a lovely present.... Would ruin it to tell you what Liam bought!  The traffic is insane in the city centre and we thought the roads to BF were bad - people, bikes, boda  bodas (motorcycle taxis that carry all manner of goods and up to 5 people), cars, minibuses and massive over-stacked lorries topped with workers all vie for the same space on the road. The minibuses have mirrors on the front to see how close they get to the vehicle in front! Mental and quite scary at times! On return to the hotel we practised our play and then made a start on the recycled fashion we are doing for the show tomorrow. Reflection time tonight made us all realise just what impact we are having over here. Tomorrow is going to be one emotional day.

Miss Osman and Miss Kirk

Bright Future School 2015, today myself alongside the team completed a highly energetic & excitable Bright Future School schedule. This was packed with a variety of many different tasks ranging from academic activities in the morning such as artwork in preparation for the highly anticipated plays being performed for everyone to see on Friday as the grand finale, all the way to the afternoon being spent sporting to the max in a netball competition against the children at the school who were all different ages to one another & also very good at what they do.  All activities were very much so enjoyed on behalf of both all the Stoke Park School team & Bright Future School team, we are all loving our time here in Uganda to the fullest, with each day getting even better than the previous. So, onwards & upwards for everyone involved in this truly inspiring journey from the whole of the SPS squad. Much love from Rio

Another amazing day in Uganda. All of us were slightly concerned yesterday about the progress our groups were making with the plays we are directing, but today was a massive turn around. Not only have the children improved in confidence and productivity, but so have we. I think it's fair to say that  the effort and enthusiasm in the children's performance today has made us very proud directors!

Rio, Lucy and Miss Kirk have done an amazing job on the masks and backdrops...even if Rio did get carried away and covered Miss Kirk's legs in several different colours of paint! And Mrs Osman brought out her dramatic side today with Bianca's group, showing them how it's done properly! 

We ended our day at Bright Future School with a loom band making workshop, courtesy of Karen's many bags of loom bands! With a class of kids walking round showing off their new bracelets to all their friends, but I think it's fair to say that Liam's ones which match many of his outfits(on purpose) came out on top. 

We had a fun minibus ride back to Cassia Lodge, where Liam and Kate put on a very loud Disney karaoke session, which came with a variety of strange dance moves and out of tune duets. And we also had a painful game of flinging elastic bands at each other, which I was apparently forced into! 

After arriving back at Cassia Lodge, we did our daily routine of meeting outside for drinks and a chat. We ended up playing the alphabet game with countries, where we had to go round in a circle naming countries starting with a different letter. We had some interesting answer such as Venice and Amsterdam from Yaz, she doesn't do geography, incase you can't tell.

Currently we are sat on the balcony eating dinner on the veranda with an amazing view of Lake Victoria, which personally never gets old. And it seems we're playing the country game again, good luck Yaz! 

- Emily 

Today has been a chaotic but very enjoyable day for the team at Bright future. Today was the day we began actually teaching the children. Each of us was given a class and we had to play teaching assistant. Afterwards, each student then played interactive and communicating games with their classes and teachers eg Simon Says, The Bean Game and Opposites. 

After the break we were assigned a group of 10 to 25 children ageing from 5 to 16 and we each were given a play that we were to recreate with the kids. Everyone started off really well and the kids were participating and intrigued by each of the plays (Little Red Hen, The Lion and The Mouse, The boy Who Cried Wolf, The Zebra With Stripes and The Enormous Turnip) and by lunchtime a majority if not all of the children had their lines down to a T.

Now the classes after lunch are a competely different story, it was like everything turned upside down, the children were clearly more comfortable around the team because while the teachers were away teacher training with Miss Kirk, they had no problem reeking havoc amongst the different classes instead of practicing for the performance that is planned for Friday. The team are also being made to put on a performance which shall surely be epic with all of our outstanding acting skills........?!!

We will keep you updated on everything 

Yaz

Today was a day of new experiences for many of us. We started off the day by visiting Bright Future , who as always, gave us an amazing welcome which included performances from their dance club, kick boxing club and scouts.

After the welcoming, we were greeted by Ronald , the founder of the charity CEFOVID. Ronald ,along with 3 volunteers ,provides health care initiatives and aims to empower the local community and promotes sustainable development by helping people help themselves. We were then taken on a tour of the Kosovo slum areas where many of the Bright future students live. For many of the students it was the first time that they had seen such conditions. Despite four of us visiting this area two years ago , you never get used to the conditions. The area is densely populated and crowded and there is litter strewn across the streets. Sewage runs through the centre of Kosovo , making the village unsafe and unhygienic, yet we saw children no older than five paddling in the unclean water.

We were able to see the work that Ronald and CEFOVID do and met several women who have improved their living situations with help from his team. We met one women who had transformed her home constructed of wood into a concrete house for herself and her family. The tour relayed our thoughts that many of the people we have met make the most of what they have. For example, a woman we met today had made mats out of straw/Palm tree leaves which she is then able to sell on.

We also came across some hard hitting things on our tour. We were able to see the damage caused by the recent floods. In particular, we met a woman who's house collapsed and we were able to see the aftermath. The residents of Kosovo have little as it is but now they have even less. It makes you realise how lucky you are to live in a country such as England and have the opportunities we have.


This experience was incredibly eye opening for all of us.


In the afternoon , we returned to Bright Future and had a tour of the school. It was interesting to see how the school had changed in two years. There were brand new toilets and a water harvesterimg tank, a new green area where vegetables are being grown , a new teachers quarters and classrooms had been moved around to better facilitate the needs of the school. There were also many paintings which made the school aesthetically more attractive and a new reception area.

Following the tour, we were able to have some free time with the children whilst the staff planned the week ahead. The free time enabled us to dance and play with the children and generally get to know them better. We were taught many hand clapping games and dances and we even taught over 60 children how to do the Hokey Cokey and the Macarena. One thing we took away from today and we can all agree on is the fact that both students and staff are all eager and happy to learn.

Tomorrow we start our work in classes and preparation for the students plays which include : the little red hen, the enormous turnip , the boy who cried wolf, how the zebra got its stripes and the lion and the mouse.

We are all looking forward to the week ahead and bonding with the children and staff of Bright Future school.


Bianca

What a day!!! Today we visited Natette school, Foxford's sister school where all the 5 schools involved with Africa inspires have had a sports day and and put on a fantastic show for us. Our sister school, Bright future were taking part in this day too.

We all got up nice and early and had breakfast at 7am, it was a lovely breakfast which we all washed down with a tasty malarone tablet. We were then picked up by Jerry, on route to the school we all saw  things that were hard to take in like the slums and all the dirt roads, this was a huge contrast to our hotel. We also found out that motorbikes are used as taxis and delivery vans, trust me they can get anything on the back of one of those (no lie there was like a million bananas on the back of one today) anyway we also saw parliament and the presidents house.

So when we arrived at the school we could see the children were all out playing games of rugby and endball, we pulled in and suddenly the bus was swamped by school children itching to see us. Feeling like celebrities we composed ourselves and got off the bus for everyone to be high 5ing  and shaking our hands, we then went into the head teachers office for a briefing. All the staff were so friendly and happy to see and speak to us. After this we went out to officially meet the schools which was amazing they all greeted us with there own special hand clap. On with the sports we broke off into small groups to go around and watch the games and talk to everyone. During this time we were all dragged in by the children to join in the middle of a circle. We have tried to learn the dance moves but rather than helping they enjoyed laughing more. When you start to talk and play a game with one or two children out of nowhere 50 more appear like magic, they really know how to have fun.

End of the sports and we went to have lunch, foxfords school put on a lovely spread but a highlight was when bright future went to their school to cook us food and bring it back, we had roast potatoes
and chicken, the roast potatoes were amazing. During out lunch I may or may not have fallen asleep on a chair and got woken up by Bianca drawing on my face...how rude, I know right. Now the schools invited us to watch a show of song and dance which was brilliant, seriously like we're amazing at it. They also dragged me, Kate, Yaz and Rio up to try the dancing out (don't worry Kirky got a video of it). After this they waved us off and back to our hotel we went, where we all sat down and relaxed out of the sun. We went for dinner on the balcony and enjoyed pancakes for dessert.

It's been an amazing, fantastic and brilliant day. The schools were so welcoming...

Liam Hudspith

Today was our first day and it was eventful. Although we didn't spend it actually at Bright Future we spent the day recharging our batteries (or as Kirky calls it "acclimatisation '). After a breakfast which was delicious after the aeroplane food the group went round the pool to relax, sleep and get a bit of a tan(or sunburn for most of us). We splashed about in the pool (yes there is a lifeguards), Yaz decided to cling to Lucy almost dunking both of them in the deep end.
Liam discovered that the phones in the rooms could call one another and so spent the remainder of the afternoon calling everyone and annoying everyone.
After dinner while sat at the table Kirky declared it loom band time and so now we have all managed to make loom bands so that we can tell our water bottles apart for health and safety reasons "no one wants worms!". All took on the challenge, Liam and Rio both with looks of mild disgust, and now have looms, I think Kirky  has found a new interest as she is still making them...
Also after dinner one by one we talked about what has been the best and worst experience so far and were able to see how each other are really feeling because even though it's been two days, being so far away from home can take its toll so we must lean on each other.
The whole day has basically been one big team building exercise and as a group we are closer than ever, especially since we now have nicknames.
Everyone is eagerly awaiting tomorrow as we are heading to Natette which is Foxford's school where we are meeting all staff and some students from Bright Future school, Natette school and others who are involved in this project followed by our first visit to Bright Future school.
We will keep you posted

Kate (Bob)

We're finally here!! The flights were long and Mozzy enjoyed the extra leg room, even though she did end up putting her legs up on the tray.  It was interesting flying for the first time, and now I know the plane doesn't go upside down! Istanbul was a hive of activity and we only had 30 minutes to get through it all before we set off! We stopped off in Rwanda and then made our way to Entebbe after 12 hours in the air. Once we got to Entebbe we met Jerry, who drove us along the very bumpy roads of Kampala until we reached the Cassia Lodge Hotel at 5am.  As soon as we got here everyone crashed out and went to sleep, but the view this morning was worth it!! Lucy

This is the first time we have managed to get the wifi going at the hotel! After a rush through transit in Istanbul and a stop off in Kigali we finally arrived in Entebbe to be met by Jerry and his crew who took us on the hour journey to the hotel in Kampala. We arrived to find the hotel locked up and only 2 rooms ready for us to use. At 430am we didn't care so everyone bunked down for as much shut eye as possible. Everyone is up, breakfasted and malaroned and today is the acclimatisation day - getting used to the hotel, the people, the weather. Miss Kirk

So everyone arrived at the airport in plenty of time (thank you parents!) our check in was easy - it helped that the check in lady had just come back from visiting her brother in Kampala! She has even given us the extra leg room seats on the long flight from Istanbul to Entebbe! Not that Mrs Osman will need it...  Yazmin and Emily got scanned! And the bright orange shirts are doing their job - we can spot the students a mile off in the airport departures lounge! They are all having a wetherspoons breakfast or Burger King like it's their last meal! We are boarding at 1030am. Everyone is very excited- Lucy is coping well with these new experiences of airline travel. Just having a coffee.. Will get the students to blog from the hotel. Miss Kirk

Well this has come round rather quickly! Tomorrow final checks and distribution of goodies for packing and then we fly Thursday morning. Final details to be checked and double checked and by Friday morning we will be in different hemisphere in a different continent. Very excited to be taking students to my second home - the staff and students of Bright Future School are incredible people and exceptionally welcoming. So looking forward to sharing resources, teaching new strategies and developing their drama and arts skills and seeing our students grow as individuals. This is a life changing experience. Keep up with our efforts and progress on this blog! 

Miss Kirk