Starting in September 2011, this 2 year project will involve schools from England, Sweden, France, Greece and Germany, and will focus on raising attainment in basic skills with pupils of varying learning needs in contrasting environments. The acronym of the our project is, therefore, R.A.C.E (Raising Attainment in Contrasting Environments). This was carefully thought out as it reflects our concern for the human race, pupils individual needs and a pupil project on the Olympic races. We will look at meeting the differing needs of pupils according to; learning difficulties, gender, ethnicity and economic deprivation, in the contrasting environments. A sample group of rising 8 year olds during the school year 2011-2012 will be used for analysis and evaluation of the success of the project, and this age group of pupils are chosen as they will be with each school for the duration of the project. The term 'Contrasting Environments' will be defined as the learning environment inside each school, as well as the Environment outside of each school. Throughout the 2 years, and after an initial pupil and staff questionnaire, pupils will collaborate on three environmental projects via a variety of media. Learning opportunities for the staff, and the sharing of expertise and practice across the schools will also be a key aspect; and this is also linked closely to contrasting environments. Staff will focus on sharing early reading and writing practices, our approaches to learning in our school and outside environments, school facilities, outside agencies, and a plan for the future. The final mobility will involve the analysis of progress and attainment of our focus group of pupils from each school.