Education sector briefing

The Wandsworth/Pankow (Berlin) Partnership

Join a new group working to get a partner for Wandsworth!

Context

The European Movement, Wandsworth & Merton branch has been working for some time to build up appetite locally for partnering one or both boroughs with a like-minded community elsewhere in Europe.

It’s long been clear that young people stand to gain the most from town partnerships. Actions by the British Government have seriously reduced opportunities for youth and cultural exchange in recent years, but we are about to turn the corner: we very much welcome the UK’s return to the Erasmus+ Programme just announced, even though participation won’t resume until 2027. We are also encouraged by the commitments made during the December 2025 State Visit to Britain by the German President regarding a UK-Germany Youth Summit and a grassroots sports exchange.

Our branch has been focusing on one particular opportunity. Having established that the north Berlin borough of Pankow makes a good match for Wandsworth on several counts, we paved the way for a formal approach made in June 2025 by the mayor of Pankow to the leader of Wandsworth Council, suggesting an exploratory meeting on the potential benefits of town twinning. Whilst this was welcomed, the Council leadership and elected members here are increasingly focused on the elections in May 2026; in the meantime, we are preparing the ground by highlighting the benefits for the education sector here from a new city partnership.

Why?

Education partnerships between schools and local authorities in Wandsworth and Berlin/Pankow, built on mutual interest and need, could bring learning opportunity to students and communities, specifically in citizenship and language learning.

Wandsworth, as a thriving, outward-facing London borough, can do much to prepare its young people for the challenges facing them in the urban environment. Pankow, as part of Berlin, has additionally a strong interest in enhancing English language competencies. We have an opportunity now through town partnership to work with Pankow to establish school-to-school links.

Language training and exposure to other countries and cultures is proven to help children and young people find wider opportunities, both during schooling and when they enter the workforce.

The withdrawal from Erasmus+ and introduction of strict immigration requirements by the UK government has hindered such exchanges but this appears to be changing, with the new government focusing on rebuilding links to help with youth/educational exchanges. We hope to learn more about the government’s plans in due course.

Four main components

School exchanges School Visits – School trips between Europe and the UK are commonplace. Finding a district or school to partner with will help build long term relations between the schools, staff and students. Virtual Twinning – a modern day pen-pal style arrangement, but using video calling technologies. E-twinning could be a great way of building connections and starting a relationship with schools in Pankow.

Languages Training – Language teachers, no matter what level of technical skill, benefit from experience in first language environments of their specialism. They may also pick up new skills or techniques from teachers in different educational systems. Students benefit from a teacher whose first language they are learning. Arranging twinning for language teachers to visit and teach in either borough for short periods, to sharpen their language skills and to help other teachers develop their students. This will also help build professional ties between both school systems. These exchanges already happen in many places, so it is a familiar concept.

Citizenship The underlying added value for young people in both Pankow and Wandsworth should come from increased exposure to how our counterparts face up to current challenges, given the strong parallels between London and Berlin: sharing experience with local initiatives on e.g. the environment, community engagement, and personal safety / crime prevention.

Events Pankow hosts a large international youth music festival, themed around peace and conflict, which plays host to students from its existing partner towns in Poland, Ukraine, Israel and Mozambique. The next event is scheduled for September 2026, and we have already been invited to take part. Wandsworth was the 2025 London Borough of Culture, with a wide program of cultural events throughout the year. A twinning association would be able to collaborate with organisers and schools for any similar future such events, a role the Guildford and Richmond associations already perform.

Getting this off the ground

The key steps are:
• setting up a dedicated local Partnership Association
• engaging with schools and school associations
• identifying local organisations in London or Berlin that already have contacts, like sporting, cultural etc
• seeking support from the German Embassy, and the British-German Association
• in due course, Councils here or in Berlin

Possible sources of funding:
• Local council grants in London/UK
• National/EU funding
• Possibly, corporate