KS2 Chinese Language and Culture Immersion Course 2015
Application Guidelines
Please read all information below carefully before completing the application
form.
KS2 Chinese language and culture immersion courses are fully funded by
HSBC Global Education Programme and managed by the British Council.
The courses are an exciting opportunity for primary school students (Year 5)
in England and Wales to learn Mandarin Chinese and experience some of the
rich culture of China. A total of 100 primary school students have the
opportunity to attend a week long residential course in one of two locations in
England.
The course is designed to serve as an introduction to Chinese language and
culture. We envisage that it would most benefit schools new to or interested in
working with China that have yet to offer regular Mandarin lessons to their
students and embed Mandarin teaching into their curriculum.
We are keen to encourage primary schools to apply where there is a
Mandarin provision at their local secondary schools so students participating
in the course will have the option to continue studying Mandarin beyond
primary school.
Tuition & Staffing
The course will be led by a qualified senior teacher and there will be a staff to
student ratio of 1:5 during teaching hours, and never less than 1:10 at all other
times. The language classes will be delivered by qualified language teachers,
who will be using teacher assessment materials from Asset Languages to
monitor students’ progress throughout the week. At the end of the course
participants will be awarded a certificate as a mark of their achievement.
The courses will be held on the following dates/locations:
Oakham:
Frensham:
26th July – 1 August 2015
9th-15th August 2015
Applicants are able to state a preference for course location however this
cannot be guaranteed.
Course costs
There is no cost to participating schools or students as all of the costs of the
course are covered by HSBC. This includes accommodation, all meals,
teaching and cultural activities. The only cost that will need to be met by the
local authorities or schools is transport for the students and their
accompanying teacher(s) to and from the course location.
Submitting an Application:
Schools and local authorities that have previously taken part in the KS2
Immersion courses are eligible to apply however priority will be given to new
local authorities and schools that are yet to benefit from this opportunity.
We can accept applications coordinated by a local authority
representative or a member of staff from a cluster of schools submitting
an application.
School Clusters
Schools from England and Wales are required to apply for places on an
immersion course as a cluster. Each cluster should be formed of at least 2 or
3 different primary schools within a local authority. If successful, a cluster
will be asked to nominate 10 pupil participants. Please be aware that this
opportunity is only open to students currently studying in Year 5. This initiative
is aimed specifically at this year group as we hope that after the course
participants will share their learning and enthusiasm for Chinese throughout
their school – a follow-up grant is available for suitable activities. It is not open
to students from lower year groups as in previous years younger students
(aged 8 and below) have struggled to cope with a full and busy week away
from home.
It is especially important that teachers who are considering entering students
for the course are fully aware of what the course involves – namely, 7 full days
spent solely at the venue school with a total of 15 hours morning language
tuition and cultural activities every afternoon and evening. Please see the
example programme from the 2014 Frensham course, which will give schools
interested in taking part in the course an idea of what the course entails.
We would ask that teachers select students on the basis of the following:
- The pupil is currently studying in Year 5
- The pupil has sufficient maturity to spend a week away from home and
fully participate in an intensive, fast-paced language and culture
course.
- The pupil has little to no previous knowledge of Mandarin Chinese. The
course is designed as an introduction to China and Chinese language
and is not suitable for students with well-developed Chinese language
skills or a background in Mandarin Chinese (i.e. has a native speaking
parent).
- The pupil’s general conduct and good behaviour, and their ability to
participate fully in lessons and activities and make the most of the
opportunity.
Although there is no charge to the school or the individual for participating in
the course, all involved should be aware of the cost per place and that not
only will HSBC’s investment be lost if a pupil pulls out at the last minute or
goes home early from the course, but that another child has missed out on the
opportunity. With this in mind we would recommend that participating schools
keep a short reserve list of students who would be willing and able to take up
free places at the last minute for unavoidable cancellations.
Course Coordinator:
Applications should be submitted by either a local authority representative
(International links advisor or similar) or a member of staff from the cluster
who is willing to be the main point of contact for all further administrative
arrangements related to participation in the course.
This person is responsible for coordinating the application and ensuring full
commitment from each school within the cluster.
Support teacher:
The cluster of students must also be accompanied on the immersion course
by one support teacher. Further details about roles and responsibilities can
be found below.
The course coordinator (if it is someone from a school and not a local
authority) can also take the role of support teacher.
Support Teacher
One teacher from the cluster should be nominated to accompany the group
on the course.
Every support teacher must have a clear DBS issued within 3 years and will
need to bring evidence of this to the briefing meeting in London on 1 May.
The accompanying teacher should know at least some of the students taking
part and have experience of residential trips. Their role as a support teacher
will be to provide pastoral care for the students and ensure they are suitably
occupied outside of the timetable, as well as supporting the course leader in
running the afternoon and evening cultural activities. There is also the
expectation that this teacher will spread enthusiasm for Chinese language and
culture in their own school, and hopefully in the wider local authority, using
their experiences and any skills that they have learnt during the course.
There may also be an opportunity for the support teacher to learn Mandarin
alongside the students and take the Asset languages test should they wish.
For a full role description please contact us via email at the address below.
For this responsibility each accompanying teacher will receive a fee of £600.
We will be holding a briefing meeting for course leaders, language teachers
and support teachers on 1 May 2015 at the British Council offices in central
London. Attendance at the briefing meeting is compulsory for all course
teaching staff.
Commitment from Local Authority
This is an excellent opportunity for individual students but it is also essential to
ensure that their involvement has a wider impact on their school and the local
authority.
Where an application is being coordinated by the local authority on behalf of a
cluster: It is important that following the course, the local authority offers
guidance and support to the schools interested in pursuing work with China
and Mandarin Chinese, and encourages those that took part in the course to
share what they learnt with others. Representatives from the local authority
are also very welcome to visit the course centre for a day whilst the course is
running, and we positively encourage them to do so.
We recognise that not all clusters will have access to support from an
international links coordinator or similar role from within the local authority.
However, where possible we would encourage the coordinator submitting their
application to make the relevant contact at the local authority aware of their
application and their interest in developing further links with China and the
teaching of Mandarin Chinese in school.
Please note that support from your local authority is not mandatory.
Transport arrangements
Although all the course costs are covered by HSBC, your Schools/local
authority will need to organise and fund the transport to take the group to and
from the course centre. Please note that there are no bursaries available to
subsidise transport costs.
Next Steps
If your local authority and the schools in your area would like to take up this
opportunity, please complete the application form by Friday 27 February
2015 and return via email to chinaschools@britishcouncil.org
Clusters will be notified of the outcome of their application by email by midMarch 2015.
Should you have any additional questions regarding the KS2 immersion
courses or submitting an application please contact us via email:
chinaschools@britishcouncil.org
HSBC China Team
British Council