City youngsters take part in live video chat with Nigerian primary school pupils

Pupils from Admiral Lord Nelson School (ALNS) in Copnor swapped questions with peers in Abuja as part of the event yesterday morning.

Organised in partnership with global anti-poverty drive The One Campaign, the link enabled schoolchildren to engage in friendly discussion, touching on their respective studies, what makes a good teacher and even their favourite animals.

ALNS teacher Debbie Lucas said the event highlighted the differences between British and Nigerian education.

She said: ‘It was a wonderful experience which was both eye-opening and exciting for the students.

‘It is so important for them to understand how fortunate they are in having not just a free but quality education which often we take for granted.

‘Every child is entitled to the right to an education – it’s time we delivered on this and ended these inequalities once and for all.’

ALNS pupils dubbed the interaction ‘inspirational’.

Abbie Chappell, 11, said: ‘It was inspirational to learn about the children and what their favourite subjects were.’

While 14-year-old Jood Elyas added: ‘The link-up showed students how similar we are and also how different our lives are.’

The video chat – organised to highlight the importance of schooling – took place a day before Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt’s visit to Senegal, for an education conference.

Billy Hill, UK campaigns coordinator at ONE, said: ‘The day before world leaders meet half way around the world in Senegal to discuss how they can support global education, we wanted to bring the most important voices together – young students themselves.

‘The students of Admiral Lord Nelson in Portsmouth and LEA Primary School in Abuja, Nigeria are the next generation who will shape the world we live in.

‘Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt will be attending the summit and today, the students’ message to her was clear.

‘Let’s make sure every child receives a quality education and everyone gets the chance to learn.’