Engage with China delivers curriculum enrichment programmes to build China literacy, global outlook and critical thinking skills in schools. EwC Director, ‘H-J’ Colston, remembers that two pages of her history A-level book, which referenced the Opium Wars in the 19th century, were the only reference to China of her whole school academic life. It appears that not much has changed in several decades with no more emphasis being placed on China knowledge despite the fact that the world has changed and that, through globalisation, China has been one of the main winners.
In this video, intellectually curious student, Freya, talks about her drive to understand more about China and her belief that China will have much more of an impact on her life than the US.
I knew China was a communist country, which intrigued me, but it always felt very foreign… my education didn’t teach me a lot about China
Freya, aged 16, former pupil at Hayesfield School
EwC is an independent educational charity delivering off-timetable curriculum enrichment programmes – or Challenge Days – in primary and secondary schools. The programmes are ideal to benefit a whole year cohort and not just learners of mandarin, for example, as content and activities are age and key-stage appropriate and cover themes such as innovation, Silk Roads, climate change, society, geography and history.
In light of the pandemic and the restriction on field trips and excursions, EwC Challenge Days are an excellent way to experience something of China. Knowledge is power and discovering insights into the world’s second largest economy is so relevant today. Pupils really engage with learning about China’s modern context and culture and are encouraged to think more globally.
Theresa Booth, Director – Engage with China
This video also includes pupils from Pangbourne College. They capture the fun of language learning from scratch by showing off their new-found mandarin skills as well as recall some of their learnings from the Challenge Day.
EwC has delivered programmes to thousands of primary and secondary school pupils across the UK in both the independent and state sectors. To find out more and to invite us to up-skill your pupils, please contact us today via https://engagewithchina.org/contact/
Engage with China 