Miss Dean’s visit to China September 2015.
Back in July I was very fortunate in getting picked out of a hat to accompany Mr Greenwood on the
3rd visit to our partner school in China. It would be my first trip to China forming part of an ongoing
link between Xi’an Province and Warrington.
Mr Greenwood and I left Manchester Airport on Friday 18th September, along with ten other teachers
from local Warrington schools, and after catching a connecting flight in Helsinki arrived in Xi’an at
6.30am Chinese time on Saturday 19th September. After a coach journey to our hotel we had an early
meeting with our colleagues from our partner school where it was decided for this visit to join two
partner schools together. I had the pleasure of being paired with Rachel and Leanne from Oakwood
Primary School and their partner school: Primary School Attached to Xi’an University of Architecture
and Technology. We were to visit each other’s schools and take part in cultural activities together
during the week. To have the experience of both schools which were completely different in terms of
funding and resources was a fantastic opportunity and I felt excited about the prospect.
Meeting the schools’ Head Teachers
Broomfields is partnered with the remarkable Xi Hang No3 Primary School and since our link began
three years ago we’ve run exchange visits in both directions. The process is mutually beneficial as we
all have a great deal to learn from each other. The rate of development in China is well documented
and it was quite breath-taking to see the scale of their vision in building the country’s infrastructure.
The rest of the weekend was spent together on cultural activities and we had the opportunity to see
some of the famous sights in Xi’an hosted by our Chinese friends. These included the beautiful Giant
Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi’an’s most
famous landmark. The Pagoda is one
of China’s best examples of a Tangstyle pagoda; it was completed in
652AD to house the Buddhist artefacts
brought back from India by the monk
Xuan Zang.
We also visited the stunning Hua Qing
hot springs near the mountains where
The Terracotta Warriors
we learned about the romantic love
story of Emperor Xuanzong and his favourite concubine
Yang Guifei during the time of the Tang Dynasty.
Another
highlight
was
seeing
the
breath-taking
terracotta warriors, often called the eighth wonder of the
world. They were discovered by accident in 1974, when
local farmers digging a well broke into a pit containing
6000 life-size terracotta figures. Since then discoveries
have continued to be made at the site and it was
fascinating to find out that nearly 8000 terracotta figures
have now been recovered, all life sized and each one
individual!
On the Monday, we visited my school, Xi Hang No3
Primary School, where we had the most amazing
The Wild Goose Pagoda
welcome from both the staff
and
the
children.
It
was
extremely humbling to arrive
from Warrington to a city with
five million people and receive
such a warm welcome. What
struck me first was the sheer
size of the school.
It was
HUGE, with 4000 children, I
The Hua Qing Hot Springs
couldn’t believe it. We were
lucky enough to see the raising of the flag ceremony so all of the children were out in the yard. A sea
of 4000 smiling faces greeted
us and welcomed us to their
school. We stood on stage
and the children put the
school’s red neckerchief on
each of us, making us a part
of their school.
It was an
astounding sight.
The rest of the week was
spent in the two schools, Xi
Hang No. 3 Primary School
The welcome from the children
and Primary School Attached
to
Xi’an
University
of
Architecture and Technology. We had the opportunity to observe and participate in a variety of
lessons including Science, Maths, Music, Art, English
and even a swimming lesson. I was very privileged to be
asked to teach an English lesson in both schools.
After the lessons, we discussed and reflected at length
similarities and differences in teaching styles and
pedagogy with the staff at both schools. Both ourselves
and the Chinese schools were keen to learn from each
other to develop our teaching and children’s learning.
Being presented with my red neckerchief
My second English class
Whilst in a class we showed the children a video, which the children in 3JD had made for them, in
their large computer room. Mr Greenwood also talked to the children about how to log on and use
our school VLE and message the children in England. Prior to coming over to China, children in 3JD
had messaged the children in Xi’an through the newly set up VLE community. Whilst there, I quickly
got a snap of all of the children in the class to share with my children at home and put a face to the
name of the children they were messaging. The training session was well received by children and
staff and the impact was visible through the messages sent to 3JD shortly afterwards. Although still
in its infancy, this communication is something I wish to drive throughout the year and develop to
include children taking part in video conference calling to further enhance their understanding of
other cultures. In addition to this, Year 3 children have been trialling Mandarin speaking lessons.
This has been well received from both teachers
and children alike.
Another area I see the partnership developing is
with teaching sustainability in schools. I believe
that this can help bring the significance of
climate change to life and show children that that
they each have a very important part to play in
helping to protect the environment. As schools
Children being shown how to use the VLE
we have a very special role to play in
securing the future for our children;
as a place of learning we can help
pupils understand our impact on the
planet and through 'leading by
Daily eye exercises
example'
are
well
placed
to
demonstrate sustainable living and
working to pupils and the wider
community alike.
I
found
that
the
approach
to
education was similar in many ways
to our own and much of the curriculum content was very familiar. However there were key
differences, often driven by the need for scale. Class size was another key difference with a typical
class being 40-50 students, always in rows of individual tables where the students were based the
entire time. This is a lot different to what we are used to in England.
In both schools that I visited there was a lot of presenting from the front by the teacher; projectors and
laptops seemed to be standard in the classes that I saw. Lots of IT resources were available for the
teachers and I saw sophisticated visualisers used to model work. Importantly, Chinese Primary
teachers are specialist subject teachers similar to High School teachers over here.
Another major difference was the working pattern for both students and teachers – lessons were 40
minutes long and it was interesting to see that English was a core subject. The children had daily eye
exercises which were accompanied by some ‘relaxing’ music over the Tannoy system with each class
doing this in unison.
My visit to China was an
extremely special experience,
one of treasured memories and
inspirational experiences. It was
fantastic to experience a variety
of schools, see students at work
and have opportunities to speak
to students and staff. The whole
trip was superbly organised and
raised
awareness
and
UK Delegates 2015
enthusiasm. It was an excellent way of introducing something which might otherwise have been
difficult for us to explore without the support of such experienced and hospitable hosts and I am proud
to have accompanied it. It was so interesting to see the mentality towards education and see cultural
places which I would never have seen otherwise.
The view of Xi'an from the Drum Tower
The vibrant Muslim Market
Mr Greenwood enjoying noodles