Titchmarsh Primary School, St Peter's Junior School, Raunds, and St Andrew's Primary School, Kettering, teamed up for a project called Connecting Classrooms, which saw them working in collaboration with three partner schools in Kenya and three in South Africa.

The schools are the only three in the county to achieve International School status this year, which reflects a development in both children's and adults' understanding of the global society.

Headteacher at St Peter's Junior School Leah Stirrat said: "We work in partnership and we were visited by staff from schools in Kenya and South Africa earlier this year.

"We've also actually got a teacher from each of our three schools going out to South Africa during half-term, where they will be visiting the partner schools, doing some assemblies, talking to the pupils and so on.

"It's about the children realising they are part of a global community."

Headteacher of St Andrew's Primary School Rani Singh agreed. She said: "We are teaching the children for a future that is global. The project gives them a clear insight into different parts of the world, but it also helps them to understand their own homegrown culture.

"We have been able to incorporate this element into various areas such as art, music and PSHE, and it really enables us to make the curriculum much more creative, which the children enjoy."

Pupils at all three schools have enjoyed a range of activities during the year leading up to the award, including international days and international focus weeks.

The ISA provides recognition for teachers and their schools working to instill a global dimension into the learning experience of children and young people.

It supports schools to develop an international ethos, and provides evaluation and ideas for developing collaborative curriculum-based international work with partner schools.

BBC newsreader George Aligiah presented the schools' respective headteachers with the awards last week at a prestigious ceremony in London.