Thread: A place where kids can be kids

COLOMBO – Sitting in his classroom, Sachin Jayasinha leaned back in his seat, draped an arm around his classmate Lasanth Nadraja's shoulder, and launched into a scalding critique of his best friend's shortcomings on the cricket pitch.

Jayasinha didn't get far with his analysis before both boys burst into laughter. The two 14-year-olds love a good practical joke, spend rainy weekend afternoons playing video games and extend their friendly competition to their report cards, each trying to outdo the other in math and science.

"We help each other out when we need to," shrugged Nadraja. "We're just ordinary friends."

Well, not quite.

Jayasinha is Sinhalese and Nadraja is Tamil and in most other Sri Lankan schools their friendship would never have had a chance to blossom. In almost all of Colombo's 250-plus public schools, Sinhalese and Tamil students – caught up in their country's 26- year-civil war – are taught in separate classrooms.

But starting four years ago, school administrators at Royal College, built in 1835 for the children of British officers, began juggling timetables in a little-noticed move to assimilate some of the school's 8,300 students. Beginning in Grade 6, Sinhalese and Tamil students take five subjects together in classes taught in English by teachers who are also fluent in both of Sri Lanka's main languages.

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[quote author=CoolWinD link=topic=23333.msg353891#msg353891 date=1243130874]
COLOMBO – Sitting in his classroom, Sachin Jayasinha leaned back in his seat, draped an arm around his classmate Lasanth Nadraja's shoulder, and launched into a scalding critique of his best friend's shortcomings on the cricket pitch.

Jayasinha didn't get far with his analysis before both boys burst into laughter. The two 14-year-olds love a good practical joke, spend rainy weekend afternoons playing video games and extend their friendly competition to their report cards, each trying to outdo the other in math and science.

"We help each other out when we need to," shrugged Nadraja. "We're just ordinary friends."

Well, not quite.

Jayasinha is Sinhalese and Nadraja is Tamil and in most other Sri Lankan schools their friendship would never have had a chance to blossom. In almost all of Colombo's 250-plus public schools, Sinhalese and Tamil students – caught up in their country's 26- year-civil war – are taught in separate classrooms.

But starting four years ago, school administrators at Royal College, built in 1835 for the children of British officers, began juggling timetables in a little-noticed move to assimilate some of the school's 8,300 students. Beginning in Grade 6, Sinhalese and Tamil students take five subjects together in classes taught in English by teachers who are also fluent in both of Sri Lanka's main languages.

[size=12pt]Read the rest ... [/size]
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this is a good concept.. it has been practiced in many private schools such as St Thomasas and Ladies College for many years. However when I was in Royal as the writer says we had separate tamil - sinhala classes till A/Ls but still we had good tamil friends!