A COULSDON teacher is moving almost 6,000 miles from home in a bid to change the face of Brazilian state education.

When Phil Hawkins, Woodcote High School's deputy head, visited the South American country he was struck by the extreme level of poverty and deprivation in state schools.

MISSION: Teacher Phil Hawkins is moving with his wife Gill and children Harry and Evie to Brazil
DEVOTED: Teacher Phil Hawkins
MISSION: Teacher Phil Hawkins is moving with his wife Gill and children Harry and Evie to Brazil.
MISSION: Teacher Phil Hawkins is moving with his wife Gill and children Harry and Evie to Brazil

Issues that shocked him included English teachers not speaking English, children learning without interaction and most youngsters leaving school before they are 13.

Now Mr Hawkins, 45, has decided to move to the city of Goiania for two years in a bid to change state education there for the better.

He has set up a charity called Aprender, which in Brazil means to learn. It will train state education head teachers, carry out work in schools and with the Brazilian government.

Mr Hawkins said: "When I first went to Brazil I saw huge class sizes, poor conditions and a demoralised workforce – often not paid, often in class in the day and waiting on tables in the evening.

"I saw teenagers under huge stress, with poor education prospects resulting in little chance of a job and so the poverty cycle continues. I just wondered how we could help."

Mr Hawkins, who has two young children, said the decision to up sticks was easy for him – but it was a matter of convincing his wife, Baptist church minister Gill.

He said: "In previous years Gill had seen it as my little project and been very supportive but when I came back last summer and spoke about everything I had experienced, Gill became more convinced the move would be a good idea."

Mr Hawkins, who lives near Leatherhead, first visited Brazil in 2000 and wanted to move immediately, but then his two children, Harry, eight, and Evie, six, were born. So, he spent the following years visiting over summer holidays.

He said: "I went into one English lesson and the teacher did not speak a word of English – the children were just learning from a textbook.

"I was struck by the enormity of the task. They have such little resources and there is often such placidity in terms of lack of activity in the class."

"The underlying lack of confidence in ability to resolve things within the classroom was also a factor."

Mr Hawkins will fund his project through charity donations.

For more information about the project visit its website at www.aprender.co.uk