The Everest International School in Tangier, with which links have recently been established by the Ministry responsible for relations with Morocco, held a day dedicated to Gibraltar last Wednesday.

A group of pupils from Gibraltar Primary Schools, accompanied by local historian Tito Vallejo, SNLSA Nihal Pereira and Project Co-ordinator for the Ministry of developing relations with Morocco Mark Montovio, visited the school for the day.

The school, which is keen to develop links with Gibraltar, visited Gibraltar some months ago and met with the Department of Education, which inspired them to celebrate ‘Gibraltar Day’ with activities embedded into their national curriculum learning throughout a number of days. They decorated the school with Gibraltar and Union flags, and all doors had Gibraltar related displays.

‘It was wonderful to see the effort the school had put in to decorate the corridors and classrooms, and to see that the educational resources I had prepared for them had been put to good use,’ said Mark Montovio. ‘Creating awareness is important for both communities and there is always added value with activities of this nature as both communities are made aware of the opportunities available. This is important for us too, because Gibraltar could easily become a focal point for students who have gone through the British education system in Morocco and wish to further their studies at the University of Gibraltar. English is becoming increasingly important and many young Moroccans are now fluent.’

Tito Vallejo engaged the pupils with his dynamism, talking about how linked both cultures have been throughout the ages, and his presentation was well received by both teachers and pupils, including the local pupils who found Tito fascinating.

‘I loved going to the British School, Everest,’ said Jassim, a pupil from Bishop Fitzgerald Upper Primary School. ‘What I liked about the school was the kindness and excitement of all the students. The teaching staff were also kind and welcoming. I learnt a lot of history with Mr Tito that I did not even know and answered many questions.’

‘It was a great pleasure to be hosted by Everest International School, an accredited Cambridge International Centre in Tangier,’ said Nihal Pereira. ‘The warm welcome and the hospitality shown by CEO Mr. Anass Afkir and the teaching staff was remarkable. Our pupils had a lovely and enjoyable experience, where they had the opportunity to interact with their peers, teaching staff and enjoy typical Moroccan food. Our pupils had the opportunity to share their knowledge of Gibraltar with their peers in Morocco, whilst participating in dynamic classroom activities.  It was touching to experience our pupils engaging in conversation and answering questions asked by the Everest School pupils. This demonstrates the hard work and strong efforts that Gibraltar teaching staff invest in encouraging them to develop their character and personality.’

Minister responsible for Morocco relations, John Cortes, said: ‘I am really pleased that we are already seeing tangible progress in linking our communities further through our young people and through Education. Just a week ago one of our own schools held a ‘Morocco Day’ too.  We will continue to work to further knowledge and understanding between our communities and our rich cultures. We are looking forward to a lot of these initiatives.’