Real Chinese Day!

In order to support cultural awareness and understanding of China, and as part of the REAL programme, the whole of Year 7 recently went to visit Liverpool’s Chinese community. The visit was sponsored by MerseyTravel who kindly donated train passes to all the students.

The students visited China Gate and observed the impressive arch which is almost 50 feet high and is reputed to be the largest of its type in Europe. The Gate commemorates the twinning of Shanghai with Liverpool. Having walked to the Victoria Galleries and Museum at Liverpool University, the students were treated to fan dancing, Kung Fu, T’ai Chi and a talk on the Shanghai Expo, as well as learning a little more of the Chinese language. All the activities were prepared and performed by the Confucius Centre, as part of our continuing link with the Centre and were thoroughly enjoyed by the students.

Having worked up an appetite, all 115 students and 14 staff then took over the whole of a restaurant in China Town to sample the delights of a Chinese buffet. All the students excitedly tried new foods, experienced eating with chopsticks and thoroughly enjoyed the day.

The influence that China has on the world economy is increasing and it is important that we do all we can to prepare our young people for life in a multicultural society. The students will use their experiences from this day to complete their project on China, which will culminate in a video documentary, produced and edited by the students themselves. Bebington High Sports College has also recently opened their own Confucius unit which provides a learning point within the school for Chinese culture, language, theatre, history, art, food and music. The centre is run twice a week for an hour, with the aim of focusing on new and innovative ways of teaching and learning and offering students a chance to develop their skills, experiences and open up new horizons for their future.

Confucius said that “alongside knowledge you should have time to think. It is not just about acquisition of knowledge but about respect for the importance of education and the family" and this flows together with the ethos of the school, sending out an important message of building up relationships and caring for the community.

As ever, students represented the school incredibly well during the trip. Members of the public commented on how quiet they were, appropriately behaved plus respectful whilst travelling on the train to and from the event and when watching the thrilling performances.