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The Island School Where Girls Learn to Be Leaders

On a small island in Senegal, girls from the whole country learn to dream big.

· 142 words · about 2 min

A schoolgirl at her desk in a classroom on Gorée Island, with a blackboard full of French lessons
A schoolgirl at her desk in a classroom on Gorée Island, with a blackboard full of French lessons (file photo). Photo: Ferdinand Reus, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Gorée is a small island in Senegal, in West Africa. The boat from Dakar takes about 20 minutes. On this island there is a special school. It is a school only for girls.

The girls are very good at school. Many come from small villages far away. They live and sleep at the school. This is called a boarding school.

The girls learn maths, science and languages. They also learn to speak in front of many people. They learn to lead a team. Later they can become doctors, engineers or teachers.

Some people think girls should only help at home. This school shows a different way. Girls can dream big too.

The school is named after Mariama Bâ. She was a famous writer from Senegal. She wanted all girls to go to school. Her dream lives on today, on this little island.

A schoolgirl at her desk in a classroom on Gorée Island, with a blackboard full of French lessons
A schoolgirl in class on Gorée Island. Photo: Ferdinand Reus, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A quiet sandy lane on Gorée Island with pink flowers growing over old stone walls
Flowers over a quiet lane on Gorée — no cars are allowed on the island. Photo: Ibfal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The ferry from Dakar at the pier next to Gorée Island's small beach
The ferry from Dakar takes about 20 minutes to reach the island. Photo: By Cheikh, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Three smiling girls standing in the sandy main square of a village in rural Senegal
Girls in Linguère, in rural Senegal — many students come from villages like this. Photo: President's Malaria Initiative, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Big words

island
Land with water all around it
boarding school
A school where children also live and sleep
leader
A person who shows the way for others
village
A very small town
dream big
To have big wishes for your life

What do you think?

What do you want to become one day, and what will you learn for it?

Talk about it with a grown-up, or write your answer in English.

For grown-ups

This is a real story from Associated Press (Senegal coverage), UNESCO World Heritage Centre (Island of Gorée), rewritten for children. Read the full version for English learners at A1, A2 or B1 — with vocabulary, a grammar note and a quiz. How we write the news.

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