Bo'ness Academy
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Bo'ness
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China 2006

Log.

6/10/06 - Depart Edinburgh and transit through Frankfurt on Air China flight to Beijing, arriving just before 6am on the 7th.

Arrived at an airport bristling with anticipation of the Olympics in 2008. A huge digital clock dominated the Domestic departure hall, counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds to the start of the Games.

First impressions - the number of people - serious overmanning!!
Next stop - Xiamen.
10.31 / 7.10.06

After a 2 hour delay in Beijing our Air China Boeing 767 touched down at Xiamen at about 5pm and we were collected by shuttle bus and taken to our downtown hotel, the Crowne Plaza.

After settling in we headed out to explore the old city centre and to find somewhere to eat. We eventually settled on a popular Chinese venue with amazing menus at ridiculous prices.... Especially when we realised that the price included starters, soup and something undrinkable.

Xiamen is a city of 2.17 million people built on a large island at the mouth of the Jiulong River across the Taiwan Strait from the island of Taiwan. It has a sub-tropical climate and is referred to as "the Garden on the Sea" or "China's Coziest City"

Our initial impressions are of a marvellous maritime and trading location and of a city growing and developing economically at a furious pace. It is currently ranked as 5th on the "List of the Most Competitive Cities in China". It attracts a vast amount of overseas investment and the parallel, if on a smaller scale, of the My Future's in Falkirk Initiative would seem to give further addition to our potential links.

"Xiamen" means "gate to a mansion" and is our gateway to China. We have passed through the gate and wonder at what awaits us.....!

Day 2 : 8/10/06 Sunday

Staff returned to school after an autumn break with the pupils (students) returning tomorrow.
After breakfast we met Mr Shi Xiwu, the Vice Principal of Shuangshi Middle School, with whom we had been communicating to arrange our visit.

He had a planned programme for us which included a wide range of activities and meetings with various officials, teachers and students.
We also discussed a "memorandum of understanding" which could be signed jointly by the Principal and myself and would form the basis of our relationship in the future and could be presented to our respective Directors for their support.

There was then an opportunity to explore a little more of the city. We attracted a lot of stares.....westerners are still rare, but the stares were accompanied by smiles and often by words of welcome as people practised their English. Beside the modern shops there was much evidence of an older China as we looked up narrow lanes and into small shops and saw life being conducted on the street... families from children, but only the one, to the very old sitting cross legged, perhaps sorting through great mounds of green tea leaves. Huge apartment blocks and multi storey banks are cheek by jowl with tiny one or two roomed houses.

Buildings dating from the mid 20th Century clearly show their origins from the communist era and indeed much reference is made to the choice of Xiamen in the 1980s to be one of the first places to connect to the outside world when the "window to the world" policy was adopted.

We are approaching the day ahead with excitement and a little trepidation as we step into the unknown, but also with high hopes for our future links and the benefits to our pupils and the whole Falkirk Council community as we share our responsibilities as global citizens.

It is difficult to judge the degree of formality or the requirements of protocol, but there is no doubting the warmth of our welcome from Mr Shi and so we look forward with great anticipation to our first visit to Shuangshi Middle School and to our meeting with Mr Chen Wen Qiang, the Principal.

Day 3 : 9/10/06 Monday

Collected from our hotel by Mr Shi we set off on foot the short distance to Zhenhai Campus which is the older part of the school and houses years 1 to 3. It is perched on a steep rocky slope and comprises a number of buildings set amongst trees and rocks.

We visited a Biology class with 50 pupils all working individually at a microscope. The room was buzzing with activity and noise ...... which represented the enthusiasm of the learners.

As we moved around the school we were cheerfully greeted by enthusiastic children. At change of period there was a short break at which the usual boisterous playground activities reminded us of home. These were normal, happy, energetic children.

We were invited to meet two representatives of the local press who were interested in our views of Xiamen and what we hoped to achieve with our link to Shuangshi Middle School. By this time we had also gained a camera crew who will record all aspects of our visit.

We were then taken by school shuttle bus along the shore road past Xiamen University. Napier University and the Interactive University already have a link with the university in Xiamen.

On our arrival at Shuangshi Middle School, Fangfu Campus we were immediately struck by the size of the campus and the numerous multi storey buildings set amongst beautiful water gardens.

We were directed to the 10 storey school office building and to the Visitation Centre for a formal greeting from the Headteacher and a representative of the Xiamen Educational Board.

The ceremony involved many cups of tea and a great deal of formality. We watched some of our video disc "50 Minutes in Bo'ness Academy" before the Headteacher made a formal oral presentation of his school translated by Mr Shi. I then replied on behalf of Bo'ness Academy.

We then exchanged gifts and I formally presented a letter from Julia Swan, Director of Education to Mr Lin Peiwen (Peter Lin) the representative of the Xiamen Educational Bureau, International Cooperation and Exchange Division.
There then followed a tour of the school which simply took our breath away.

The campus resembled a university with teaching blocks, specialist subject areas such as an Art building, top class sports and recreation facilities and a teachers dormitory and rest block.

Lunch break lasts for 2 hours 30 minutes and teachers and students are expected to rest or sleep during this time. As the teaching day begins at 7.40am and there are 4 periods of 45 minutes duration before lunch, this arrangement seems like a good idea. At the end of the first period students assemble on the artificial football pitch set within a sports stadium for exercises and at the end of period 3 there is time out for all students to do eye relaxation exercises.
Although Chinese students are expected to work very hard, there is a conscious effort on the part of the authorities to create the correct environment to encourage learning.

After our tour of the school we joined staff and pupils in the dining hall for lunch. This was meticulously managed and the food range was extensive. This was the first opportunity for us to use chop sticks...... Oh dear!

Our next visit was to the teacher's living quarters where we met Alison who was spending a year in the school teaching English. Although only recently arrived it was interesting to get her perspective on life and teaching in China.

Most teachers live on campus, at least until they marry, only leaving at weekends for the city lights or to visit friends and family.

The next activity was perhaps the highlight of the day when we had a question and answer session with students from Senior 1 and Senior 2 ie 15 - 17 years of age. Their English was exceptionally good and their questions were interesting, unexpected and thought provoking. They had great confidence and were keen to show off their speaking skills. An hour was too short a time for us and them.

We then reassembled at the main entrance for the drive to the best restaurant in Xiamen for our formal dinner with the Principal and all his senior staff. This took us across the Haicang Bridge which links the island city of Xiamen with its suburbs on the mainland.
The meal comprised a series of small dishes placed on a revolving plate from which everyone picked some food. There was a lot of different kinds of sea food including prawns , scallops, oyster and turtle. Each pause in the proceedings was accompanied by a toast and the draining of the glass.

Clearly this was an elaborate and expensive meal but it was over quite quickly and we were returning through the bright lights of the city to our hotel, tired but exhilarated.

Day 4 ; 10.10.06 Tuesday

This is the School Day and commemorates the founding of the school. We had an early pick up to be at school for the 2nd period beginning at 9am. Previously we had met 3 of the English staff including the Head of the department and 2 other teachers both of whom we would see this morning.

Classrooms were about the same size as in Bo'ness but each class had up to 50 students in the room. The rooms had ceiling mounted data projectors and a drop down white screen as well as several chalkboards. At the back of each room was a large chalkboard but otherwise the room was bare.

The children returned quickly from their physical exercises and when the teacher said the lesson would begin all were immediately silent. They stood and repeated a welcome to the teacher then clapped when their guests from Scotland and the 3 other English teachers were introduced.

There then followed a textbook powerpoint lesson delivered by a newly qualified teacher. She had rapport with her pupils, humour,
sophisticated ICT skills involving "flash" video clips, pictures and interactive sections. The lesson was fast paced and provided short episodes before moving on. There was excellent, noisy but structured discussion and feedback from each group from the front of the class. The atmosphere was one of mutual support by the students to one another and an enthusiasm to learn.

The second lesson we saw was not as good. The pupils were less engaged and the teacher just ploughed on regardless. Neither lesson involved much reinforcement before moving or at the end of the lesson. Homework is given after every lesson and I suspect there is a big onus on pupils to make sure they keep up.

The final lesson of the morning was taught by Miss Ling Wei Jung who had spent time in Dunbar teaching for a year. She also taught an excellent lesson using PPT., but seemed to be more interested in ensuring pupil learning before moving on and in ensuring they had clear notes to follow.

After another school lunch we were joined by about a dozen of the English staff for and hour long Q & A session. They work within a very proscribed environment and they do not wish to appear critical but interestingly they had similar concerns to us about the standard of writing and how to improve the teaching of this element of the syllabus.

After a brief rest we were collected by Mr Shi and driven in convoy to another restaurant where we had two tables taken by school English staff, the Foreign Language Assistant , Alison, three visiting English teachers from another school in Fujian Province, and ourselves all under the banner of Mr Shi. More toasts, more seafood and more fun with the chopsticks.

Day 5 : Wednesday 11.10.06

Sightseeing with Mr Shi, Ling Wei and Alison. We took the ferry across to Gulangyu Island just 10 minutes away in time but a world away from the bustle of the city. No cars, no bikes, peaceful walkways and almost deserted beaches. Mr Shi made a generous and interesting guide filling us in with history, culture and some food and drink along the way.
By mid afternoon he and the school staff had to return to their teaching duties and Maureen and I were left to continue our explorations alone.

Day 6 : Thursday 12.10.06

In the morning I visited the Botanical Gardens which were an oasis of calm and coolness on a hot city morning. I thoroughly enjoyed strolling through the Bamboo Garden and the Palm Garden and visiting the camphor tree planted by Deng Xiaoping. Later I took a cable car ride high above the city to get marvellous panoramic views of the city, the Juilong River, the Taiwan Straits and the mainland beyond. The river channels were being criss-crossed by small ferries, fishing boats and pleasure boats as they manoeuvered around the great monoliths - the container ships.

The afternoon was spent again with Alison and Ling Wei who took us to the main shopping areas for presents to bring home.

All too soon we have nearly reached the end of our visit to this fascinating land. As we try to assess our views and consider the potential of our link with Shuangshi Middle School I am excited by the possiblilites for our school community. Our welcome in China had been very warm and generous and the staff and students we met transmitted a thirst for learning and a real enthusiasm for a link with Bo'ness.

It was pleasing that our thoughts and those of our hosts were so similar in terms of our partnership.

Day 7 : Friday 13th October.

Before finalising my packing I just had time to revisit Gulangyu Island for some final views of the city before Mr Shi collected us for the short drive to the airport.

Departed at 4pm for the 2 hour flight to Beijing where we had a 6 hour wait before our flight to Frankfurt departing at 2am on the 14th October.
Arrived back in Edinburgh at 11.30am on 14th October, 27 hours after leaving Xiamen.

We now look forward to further negotiations and developments as we seek to implement the details of our "Memorandum of Understanding"

China Partnership | More photographs from China | China Visit 2007

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