Students amazed by trip to China

Their 10-day trip involved visiting our partner school in Shanghai, The Taicang Experimental Middle School (TEMS), where they were given a warm welcome. The students attended lessons and took part in a football match, which BPS won despite the heat. They also went to a Performing Arts Festival where three of the students performed to represent our school.

All the students had a Chinese buddy for their time in the school. Sean from Year 10 said: “I really enjoyed going into the school and meeting students of my age living on the other side of the world. The communication was difficult at first; we attended lessons and lunch with the Chinese students. The way of teaching is really different and that was interesting.”

After leaving the school the group visited many cultural landmarks within and around Shanghai. They went to Suzhou where they enjoyed a river cruise and spent time at the Pan Water Gate. They also visited temples and of course got a great taste of the local food.

Blake from Year 8 said: “I really enjoyed every part of the trip and saw some amazing things. The boat trip through the water village was really good and we all bought hats to have our photo taken. The Pearl Tower in Shanghai was a real wow! We stood on a clear glass floor and looked all the way down to the ground. We went back to the Bund at night to watch a light display on the buildings which was a great finish to the trip.”

The trip was the second visit the school has made to TEMS after signing a partnership in March 2014 to forge both cultural and educational links for students in both schools. Staff and students from the Chinese School are due to return to The Birkenhead Park School in July.

Head of Performing Arts, ICT and PE, Mrs Houghton was one of the teachers on the trip, she said: “What an amazing experience for me and the students who were great company, impeccably behaved and a credit to the school and their families. I really enjoyed the school visit and observing lessons at the school was a real honour. Our partner school really value our friendship and the sharing of educational ideas, a partnership which will hopefully last a long time. We look forward to their visit to us in the summer and to making their experience of England the best that we can”.

Taicang is near the Chinese City of Shanghai, and is twinned with Wirral. The Birkenhead Park School is the first school in Wirral to have visited this area of China.

China