Grantown Grammar School has been linked up with a school in China, called Xinying Middle School. I will be visiting the school next week and keeping you up to date with my visit on this blog.
Here is some information about our partner school.
Location
The school is in the southwest of China in the city of Kunming, the capital of the Yunnan province which is about the size of Japan! It enjoys a tropic highland humid monsoon climate, characterized by cool summers and warm winters. It is nick-named the City of Eternal Spring as it feels like spring all year round. The annual average temperature is 13-20°C and the annual rainfall is 1100 mm. Kunming is an important city in China as it used to be the gateway to the celebrated Silk Road that facilitated trade with Tibet, Sichuan, Myanmar and India. Yunnan Province is very diverse with mountainous terrain in the north and rainforest in the south. It is rich in flora and fauna, and is home to half of all of China's plant and animal species. There are many temples, pagodas, national parks and over 26 different ethnic minorities such as Yi, Bai, Miao, Dai and Hani.
The School
Xinying Middle school has 1700 students aged between 11-18 years, with 117 staff and 34 classes. The school is very modern and was only built in 1996. Some students travel a great distance to the school and can board. The students study a variety of subjects, such as Chinese, English, Maths, History, Geography, Politics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Music, Arts, Sports and Research Study. Every year there is a big sports and choir competition. The school website is: http://www.plxyschool.com/
Partnership with Grantown Grammar School
We hope to set up joint curriculum projects with the Chinese school in different subject areas. This will enable the students to learn about life in another country and see things from a different perspective. In the summer term we hope to carry out projects which focus on what it means to be Scottish and living in the Highlands. Students may compose pieces of traditional music, write poems about identity, draw pictures of their area, learn about local customs related to food and consider the implications of living in a national park. It is hoped that the Chinese school will carry out similar projects and the students will exchange their work, and thereby learn about life in each respective country. In the future, there will be many more such projects, mandarin lessons and hopefully exchange
You have no idea how unbelievably jealous I am! I'll lose a couple of pounds so I can fit in your suitcase! I was looking up the area on the internet looks very beautiful... Looking forward to learning more about the school, the people, everything! Have a great time, I know you will! Lynsey xx
Posted by: Lynsey | March 23, 2007 at 12:06 PM
very interesting experence you have
Posted by: Poon David | December 19, 2009 at 02:34 AM