Tag: Education

Dreams of England

For my Grade 12 students in Beijing, this has been the worst and the best few weeks of their young lives. These were the weeks that they received their final A Level grades, the ones that will determine whether they get their university places or not. The good news I can report is that all of them were successful and that for 90% of them this means that their long cherished dreams of studying in the UK are about to come true. The challenges for my students in achieving this academic dream should not be underestimated. This is not an […]

Introducing Dianne Francombe, OBE .

In the Chair’s Blog this week I present an interview with Dianne Francombe, OBE. Dianne is Chief Executive Officer of the Bristol and West of England, China Bureau, an organisation set up to build business and cultural partnerships. She was awarded an OBE in 2020 in recognition of her dedicated service to improving UK-China relations. Please talk to us about your motivations for working for an organisation building partnerships with China?  Do you have your own personal experiences of China? I first visited Hong Kong in 1987 and was fascinated by this country which was so different to anywhere I […]

Why Bridges of Understanding to British Universities really matter!

As we all know education exchange is one of the best ways to grow friendship and understanding between the people of Britain and the people of China. So today I’d like to share with you some thoughts from one of my ex students – Wang Xiao Yu. Wang studied IGCSE and A Level courses with me in Beijing, before successfully completing first a BSc in Psychology with Education and then an MSc in the same subject this year. Here she reflects on the importance of choosing a British university. “ A Chinese Student’s Journey: Navigating University Life in the UK […]

China and the UK between them grow ‘the tree of life’!

It’s exam time here in Beijing! For students and teachers alike, it’s the same roller-coaster ride of mixed emotions that you will find in any school in England.There’s the same slight giddy hysteria in the air as the students make their final preparations. There’s the same clutching at little squishy calming toys, or devotion to good luck mascots. There’s the same hush of teachers waiting anxiously for the exam room doors to be opened and for students to bring news from the examination battle front of victories and defeats. There are deeper reasons for the atmosphere to be exactly the […]

So much to learn from each other.

One of the key things that drives me in my work for SACU is the knowledge that there is so much the people of China and the people of Britain could benefit from if we had genuine opportunities to learn from each other. I was reminded of this recently. One of my former students now studying Urban Design in a UK university sent me her essay about Environmental Impact Assessments – which are legal mechanisms used in the UK to protect vulnerable environments. And there in one amazing paragraph she was paralleling and comparing an annual report into Teeside Incinerators […]