It may be windy, wet and gloomy at the start of 2024 but we are filled with optimism & hope for the year ahead as we continue to build engagement, opportunity & China literacy in the classroom. So why the optimism?
Despite school budgetary constraints, covid catch-up & capacity issues in schools, multiple schools and 6th Form Colleges have already booked us in to deliver our curriculum enrichment China Challenge Days. These days will take pupils on cultural journeys enabling them to understand the impact of of China on the world today as well as encounter thousands of years of history from the technological advancements of the Shang dynasty; the rise of the Qin dynasty & the ‘Terracotta Emperor’ and the obsession with porcelain & tea in British society.
Our third and largest, global ‘Good Cop Bad Cop’ Model UN conference takes place on 02/02 involving 350+ young people to discuss the climate crisis.
Our first cohort of EwC Scholars have settled in brilliantly into boarding school life in China having been there already for six months. They have enjoyed cultural trips, taken part in Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, competed in fencing, public speaking and swimming competitions as well as rowing, playing basketball and music alongside their full-on academic classes.
And that’s not all…. registrations are now open for the ‘Global Perspectives’ summer camps, July 2024 in China.
Designed for curious, young minds who imagine a world beyond their experience, this camp will delight and inspire pupils as they discover China’s culture, history, language and tech advancement during an action-packed schedule at our partner school, Wycombe Abbey Changzhou. Use Code HJ2024 to ensure your special offer price.
Keep checking the website for news of our EwC Scholarship application process for 2024-26 opening soon. This fully-funded scholarship will expand this year to enable an additional 30 British 16 year-old students (who will complete their GCSEs this summer) to study their A-levels in China. Interviews and selection will take place before Easter 2024.
We wish all teachers & students a great start to the new term as they anticipate exam season. At a time when the world (& the weather) looks gloomy may the character traits of the Year of the Dragon to come, including confidence, energy & ambition, equip us all with greater understanding, cooperation & kindness, leading to better times to come.
Date options: 01 – 13 July 2024 or 15 – 27 July 2024
Age groups: 8 – 17 years
Building on our previous experience running enriching summer camps in the UK for Chinese children, we are now delighted to present a fabulous opportunity for young people to enjoy a ‘Global Perspectives’ camp in China in July 2024. Calling teachers, parents, grandparents and governors: please share these details to enable young people aged 8-17 to take advantage of the exceptional cultural and STEAM trips and activities on offer, enjoy immersive and engaging learning with bi-lingual teaching staff and leverage the excellent and modern on-site campus facilities for a multitude of sport and music options. Above all, ‘campers’ will enjoy a summer holiday building cultural bridges and opportunities and making friends for life with teenagers from around the world, including China. [Special discount through EwC, see below].
The camp schedule has so much on offer to delight and inspire. From discovering Chinese tea culture, to learning mandarin, enjoying multiple sporting activities and visits to high tech zones, pupils will encounter many aspects of China’s modernisation, traditions and culture.
BOOK TODAY via the contact details in the brochure and remember to quote the code HJ2024 to secure your special discounted price through Engage with China. Do tell your friends about this opportunity and why not invite them to come along, too! Do let us know who is going so we can follow their excitement!
Price: £2,275 excl. air fares, visa and airport transfers in the UK
In 2023 we founded the Engage with China Scholarship Programme in partnership with Wycombe Abbey School, Changzhou. This is where the summer camps will take place, beside a lake and in this bustling ‘clean energy’ zone in Jiangsu Province. Situated within one hour of the metropolis of Shanghai by high speed rail, the school is within easy reach of other famous and historical cities including Suzhou, Hangzhou and Nanjing. Our scholars have settled in really well to their new life and are embracing all that the school has to offer them. You can read more about their life-changing story Golden Ticket opportunity here.
“The school made my transition seamless. The exceptional teachers, engaging classes, and vibrant community welcomed me with open arms. Learning isn’t just about books; it’s a dynamic experience where active learning is happening. I’m so grateful for this opportunity to embrace a new world.“
Michael S, EwC Scholar, 2023-2025
Engage with China aims to build China literacy in UK schools. This summer camp enables young people to travel to China and discover it for themselves through an action-packed itinerary where they will make lifelong memories and friendship groups. Engage with China creates platforms to build cultural bridges; we encourage you to cross this one and open doors to a more global future.
Six British pupils, aged just 16, discovered the good news on 03 August that they are to become the first Engage with China Scholars to embark on a fully-funded A-level programme in September, thanks to a new collaboration with Wycombe Abbey School in Changzhou (WASC), China. An additional four scholars are being given a part-funded scholarship.
The idea of the Engage with China Scholars programme was conceived as recently as 27 June. H-J Colston-Inge, Director of EwC, said,
In the wake of a successful charity fundraising dinner we were approached by William Vanbergen, Founder of BE Education and a partner in Wycombe Abbey International Schools in China. We recognised that our organisations shared a vision to build a vital bridge between China and the UK through education and we wanted to give some British teenagers the chance not only to discover China for themselves but also to equip them to become cross-cultural leaders of the future. We are so delighted with the response to the scholarship offer and the number of high calibre applications that we received. The scholarship was originally for only six students, but thanks to the generosity of WASC the pilot cohort will include ten ambitious, intellectually curious, globally-minded young people. This will certainly change their lives and job prospects, giving them a huge springboard for their futures
H-J Colston-Inge made contact with the Scholars yesterday to let them know the good news by phone. On hearing that she was one of the lucky ones, Calista Ajibola from Mayfield Grammar School in Kent, said,
“Everyone’s thinking I’m crazy – I’ve got a huge smile on my face! My school will be just so blown away… they won’t believe it!”
Calista Ajibola, from Mayfield Grammar School, Kent
One question that all students were asked during the interview was what they thought was the biggest challenge facing the world in 2023 and how they might play a role in solving it. “Many responded that bias and poor communication was the key to many problems,” said H-J. “We were pleased to hear that all potential scholars felt that they would have a role after their A-level scholarship to share their learnings and to encourage young people to discover more about China and perhaps to apply for the scholarship programme in the future.”
William van Bergen of WASC said that,
The collaboration between Wycombe Abbey School and Engage with China will provide numerous benefits for students and the wider community including cultural exchange resulting in enhanced tolerance and appreciation; educational excellence; language acquisition through immersion in a bilingual learning environment; networking opportunities that may prove beneficial in their future careers and building business and trade prospects. In addition, we prize global citizenship by fostering a sense of responsibility towards addressing global challenges. This programme will contribute to the development of future leaders who can make a positive impact on a global scale.
The scholars have been selected from a variety of schools from all over the country. Two of the scholars have never studied mandarin whilst others have completed their GCSE in mandarin through a government-funded Mandarin for Excellence Programme offered at their schools. On hearing the news, Katharine Carruthers, the Mandarin Excellence Programme Strategic Director, said,
I am delighted that these Mandarin Excellence Programme students have successfully applied to study A-levels at Wycombe Abbey School in Changzhou. The students have studied for 5 years in an MEP school, learning Mandarin for 8 hours per week, so this will have given them an excellent foundation to take full advantage of this wonderful opportunity. I am really looking forward to hearing about their progress over the next two years as they continue on their journey to fluency in Mandarin.
There will undoubtedly be culture shock for all of the students on a number of levels as they take up residence in the city of Changzhou in Jiangsu Province. The city has a population of 5 million people and none of the EwC Scholars have attended boarding school before.
Another Scholar, Kat Pike from St George’s School comprehensive school in Harpenden, has never studied Chinese.
No one has had an opportunity like this before from my school and my headteacher was really surprised when we asked for a reference. This is quite a shock! It will life-changing for me!”
Kat’s mother, Maggie, added, “I am so proud of Kat. We are still recovering from the wonderful shock of yesterday’s news!”
Kat Pike – Golden Ticket EwC Scholar- with her Mum, Maggie
Stephen Phillips OBE who until recently was Director General of Invest HK (Hong Kong) and was also former CEO of the China-Britain Business Council is very supportive of the Scholarship programme. “If I had my time again, I would be on that aeroplane tomorrow. This is a fantastic opportunity and a way for the next generation to understand China in an immersive way. They will undoubtedly learn some vital cross-cultural skills that can used in their working life in the future.”
The next four weeks will be busy for the students and their families as they prepare for the start of term on 01 September. EwC will deliver a pre-departure cultural workshop to help the scholars to prepare for their life in China. It will also be an opportunity for the pupils to get to know each other before they meet at the airport ready to fly to a new life in China.
We look forward to following their journey over the next two years.
**Save the date**We are proud to announce our upcoming academic conference for school leaders in partnership with the King’s School Worcester on 08 November 2023. Equipping our young people to be more China-literate is vital to ensure that they flourish in the China century. Featuring keynote speakers from academia to business, government and oceanic adventurers, this whole day conference will bring together a rich offering of China knowledge, perspectives and cultural insights to support educators to appreciate how easy it is to bring China-related teaching into the classroom from maths and economics to history, geography and PHSE.
Who should attend? Primary, secondary & grammar school leaders from both the private and independent sectors.
Cost: £150 per delegate to include all-day conference, morning coffee, networking lunch and afternoon tea prior to departure.
Contact us re sponsorship, media or to get involved via the details below:
An opportunity for six pupils aged 16 in the UK who have just completed their A-levels is available thanks to a partnership with educational charity, Engage with China and Wycombe Abbey International Schools (WAS). Successful applicants will enjoy two years of fully-funded private boarding school education near Shanghai in the city of Changzhou which has a population of over five million people. The school was established by WAS and BE Education and boasts that it has one of the finest music departments in China, the only boat-club and sporting facilities housed inside an air-conditioned dome.
This is an unbelievable opportunity for six young people who have little or no knowledge about China, who are intellectually curious, willing to gain competitive edge, interested in the world and who can see that China is a significant player on the world-stage. It would also be of life-changing significance, as with the golden ticket in the famous book ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, for anyone who cannot afford a private education.
H-J Colston-Inge, Director of Engage with China
H-J added that, “our biggest challenge will be to find the lucky winners as many GCSE pupils have already left their state schools after exams and private schools will finish term this week. There is also a huge capacity pressure on teachers with recruitment, strike action and budgets as well as the need to sustain pupil retention figures. That said, we sincerely hope that schools who hear about this opportunity will be visionary on behalf of the pupils that they serve. We have had enquiries from two students already and that is really exciting!”
Since Engage with China was founded in 2018 it has reached 3,000 pupils across the key educational stages building global citizenship and competitive edge through its curriculum enrichment workshops which focus on China.
At a recent fundraising event for the charity in London, sponsored by food production firm, Cranswick Plc, global property company, Savills, and Wedlake Bell, an international law firm, the Chinese Ambassador, Zheng Zeguang, spoke about what he would want every young person in the UK to know about China.
“China has a long history and a rich culture. It is also very complicated and has many challenges. I would encourage young people in the UK to understand more about China and they might find that they even come to like it.”
The Mandarin for Excellence Programme which delivers mandarin in around 70 schools in the UK up to GCSE level is funded in part by the Chinese and British governments.
‘The opportunity for our students to continue their sixth form studies at an international school in China will be a truly transformational experience. I am delighted that it has sparked interest among our most aspirational students, who have been studying Mandarin since they started at St Birinus five years ago. Exciting times lie ahead and I cannot wait to see where this exciting journey takes them!’
Phil Mahoney, Head of Mandarin, St Birinus
Katharine Carruthers, who is Strategic Director for UCL’s delivery of the Department for Education programme was eager to share the information around the school network saying, “this is great – but tight timing.”
Whilst the China-UK geo-political relationship is suffering from a prolonged cold snap, voices like those at Engage with China are echoed by Martha Lane Fox, Founder of lastminute.com and CEO of the British Chambers of Commerce. Ms Fox asserted recently in The Times that lives can be enriched and opportunities are ready for the taking for those who are prepared to go beyond the political rhetoric.
Oliver Letwin, former MP for West Dorset until 2019 said, “What Engage with China is doing to build China literacy is splendid and worthy. It is vital to resist the trend towards unthinkingly fostered enmity and a 3rd world war. Part of the problem is that neither side knows anything much about the other. We need many more Brits that understand China. We need to let all these flowers bloom and unless we keep talking, things go from bad to worse.”
Yue Shi, Vice President of BE Education said that, “our vision is to prepare our students for being globalised citizens. They need to understand their own identity but they also need to know about the world.” It is hoped that this can be achieved through this scholarship programme, enabling six cross-culturally astute leaders of the future to emerge with relevant China-skills and who are equipped and excited to face a world where China is the dominant player.
How to apply: Any 16-year old British citizen with an academically high track record and who has just completed GCSEs can apply enclosing a CV, covering letter and an letter of endorsement from their head teacher. Closing date for applications is 15 July 2023.
The Chinese Ambassador, His Excellency Zheng Zeguang, was the guest speaker at a ‘Dialogue with the Ambassador’ charity fundraising dinner on 14 June joined by 100 guests from the Chinese and British communities and held at the Home Grown Club, Central London.
It is rare to secure the most senior representative of the Chinese government in the UK – particularly when the event host is a small, independent educational charity called Engage with China (EwC). The event was timely in light of comments by Baroness Martha Lane Fox, entrepreneur business woman and President of the British Chambers of Commerce, whose article in The Times last week said, “China is key for all of us so wise up and don’t miss out!” The event also preceded the visit by US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, to Beijing this week which heralded a move to stabilise relations with China.
A Director of EwC, ‘H-J’ Colston-Inge, is a Mandarin speaker. She was invited to meet President Xi Jinping during his State Visit to the UK in 2015. During her speech at the event, H-J said, “I dare you to be risk-takers. To be counter-cultural. To engage more with China.”
The vision of EwC is to build a China-literate generation in the UK by sparking the imagination about the world’s second largest economy. As H-J says, “whether we like it or not, the fact is that China’s influence and impact is being felt everywhere.” H-J added that “At this Dialogue event, we provided a unique platform to uncover the human side of China-UK relations via a more informal chat with the Ambassador rather than a dry speech. The Ambassador was very responsive and personal in his responses. History is so often influenced by individuals and so the more engagement we can create that enables people to understand and appreciate different cultural nuances, the better prospects are for building positive dialogue and trust.”
She added, “we are committed to building competitive edge in schools, and to do this we need to build global awareness around China, despite the current geo-political backdrop. We believe that this will not only enrich the lives of our young people but also enable them to flourish in a future where China is increasingly significant.”
The event included a networking reception, speeches and an interview with the Ambassador. When asked by Co-Director, Theresa Booth, what one thing would Ambassador Zheng want a young person in the UK to know about China,” he answered,
“First of all, thanks to Theresa and H-J at Engage with China. Your work is so touching. All diplomacy is about people. Tonight is about people and enabling us to talk together and where we can talk freely. Thank you for all you have done over all these years. Secondly, China is a country with a long history and a lot to be proud of. It is also full of challenges. The best way to deal with China is to learn more about China.”
Ambassador Zheng Zeguang, Dialogue with the Ambassador event, 14 June 2023
Recognising the importance of this event, sponsors included some of the biggest global corporate names. Diamond Sponsor for the event was Cranswick Plc, one of the largest British food-producing companies with annual revenues in excess of £1.4bn. Cranswick’s Chief Operating Office, Neil Willis said, “Cranswick have been exporting British pork to China since 2012, and we value the relationships we have built over the last 11 years. We are proud to support this event and are keen to further develop our trade partnerships.” Other sponsors included Savills, a global property company, Hurun Inc. which compiles the China Rich List, and FOSUN, a conglomerate.
The Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint, former Group Chairman of HSBC, said a few words via a video link saying that “there is nothing more important in this day and age [than learning about China].” Other notable guests included The Rt. Hon. Sir Vince Cable, former Minister of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (and who is also a Patron of the charity), Robin Walker, MP for Worcester and a member of the Education Select Committee and Lewis Neal, Director for Economic Diplomacy at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
Jing Wei, whose clients include e-commerce giant Alibaba, is Managing Director of creative UK- China communication agency UK Sunshine Digital. She said that, “this ‘Dialogue with the Ambassador’ event was not only a charity event, but also one of this year’s great cultural exchange opportunities between China and the UK. At this event, business representatives from China and the UK gathered together to promote the mission of Engage with China; this was one of the best events in London this year.” Other sponsors included luxury watch winder heritage company Rapport London, Corbook, a B2B platform, the IoD City Branch and international law firm, Wedlake Bell LLP.
Lili Zhang, Head of UK Asia Pacific Department, Savills, who attended the event said, “China is the world’s second largest economy and Savills UK looks forward to strengthening our connections with China.”
EwC’s work is focussed mainly in primary and secondary schools. Mark Fenton, CEO of the Grammar Schools Heads’ Association said, “Schools & educators need to help youngsters to thrive in very uncertain conditions. China is a subject that, for many people, is in the “too difficult box.” In terms of helping youngsters understand how the world is going to be in the next 50 years, I think that China needs to be very much a part of that.”
Co-Director, Theresa Booth, added, “Engage with China’s name reflects the fact that cultural engagement and dialogue is part of its mission. This event played an important part in that by enabling people to meet together, understand and appreciate different cultural nuances and thereby build better prospects for greater positive dialogue and trust.”
Thank you to our sponsors and supporters for enabling this event to take place and to build vital funds to expand the work of EwC in UK schools.
To make a donation, please give generously via our JustGiving page:
Engage with China is excited to host a senior level networking dinner with Chinese Ambassador, Zheng Zeguang, on 24 May 2023 in Central London. The theme of the evening is building education and dialogue as a means of widening opportunities, trust and engagement between China and the UK.
The emphasis of the evening will be to fundraise for the charity and many corporates, educators, government ministers and individuals from both the UK and China and from across industry sectors are jumping at the opportunity to sponsor and attend this rare opportunity to meet the Chinese Ambassador.
Cranswick Plc, one of the largest British food producing companies and with annual revenues in excess of £1.4bn, will be a Diamond Sponsor. Spokesperson Neil Willis said,
Cranswick have been exporting British pork to China since 2012, and we value the relationships we have built over the last 11 years. We are proud to support this event and are keen to further develop our trade partnerships.
H-J Colston-Inge, Director of EwC and herself a Mandarin speaker, said,
We are hosting this high-level event to fundraise for our charity. You can’t light a fire without a spark and this event is about highlighting the link between preparing young people for a China-centric future – and skills and creativity that will support business. My curiosity of and fascination with China was sparked as a teenager on my first visit there in 1985. China was another country back then and now its influence and impact is being felt everywhere.
H-J added, “the current geo-political backdrop is unhelpful, however. We believe that this does not serve either of our countries well, nor help our young people to flourish in an increasingly China-centric world or for our economies to prosper.”
The event is a fundraising dinner to enable the charity to reach another 2,000 pupils in schools across the UK by the end of the academic year 2024 and open their eyes to China, its impact, influence, innovations and opportunities. Recognising the importance of discovering more about China as an important aspect of education today, Gareth Doodes, CEO and Headmaster of the King’s School, Worcester and also Chair-Elect of the Society of Heads, said,
The event hopes to raise £100k for the charity to develop new educational resources, reach an additional 2,000 UK pupils by the end of the academic year 2024, host its 3rd international, climate change Model UN conference and grow its core team. The event will be attended by 100 guests who will hear speeches from educator and historian, Sir Anthony Seldon. Guests will also be invited to bid in a silent auction for exclusive prize donations such as a Coronation Hamper from Fortnum & Mason’s, Rapport London, Tickets to this year’s Three Choirs Festival in Hereford, a stunning, glass laser etching by artist Katharine Dowson & a private tour of the Museum of Royal Worcester with tea served on Royal Worcester china.
EwC is very grateful to all its sponsors including Wedlake Bell, UK Sunshine Digital, Corbook, FOSUN, Hurun UK, UKCIC and supporters Chopsticks Club and the IoD.
Stimulating economic growth through business; educating young people about different cultures and perspectives; escalating geo-political tensions; tackling climate change – all of these are likely topics at our upcoming fundraising event, 24 May, Central London.Tickets on sale NOW! This is a rare opportunity to meet the Chinese Ambassador and we welcome you to join us. Huge thanks to our Sponsors & Support Partners.
At Engage with China’s Good Cop Bad Cop climate change ModelUN conference 2022, everyone learned a Chinese proverb, namely that,
“a tree planted now will provide shade for future generations.”
Proverb shared by China Delegate 04 at Good Cop Bad Cop 2022
Engage with China was so inspired by this Chinese wisdom that the charity set about how to leave a lasting legacy from its environmental conference this year. Good Cop Bad Cop2 ModelUN conference was to take place on 20 January on the cusp of Chinese New Year. Hosted by The Grange School, Cheshire, the conference involved 200 students from around the world, including China and the debate focussed on climate change. As trees play a vital role in CO2 capture but also provide shade and beauty in gardens, an idea to plant a tree seemed to be the perfect fit.
Working with Georgina Britten-Long, Deputy Lieutenant for Worcestershire, H-J Colston-Inge, Director of Engage With China and a resident of Worcester, asked how the charity could be part of the Queen’s Green Canopy project (QGCP) in the county?
“People might not realise it, but we consume and enjoy many things that originated from China. Tea and porcelain for example – but also cherry trees and other plants in the English country garden. The lasting gift of a tree will also be to build better Chinese cultural understanding,”
said H-J Colston-Inge, Director at Engage with China
After various conversations, arrangements were made to gift a cherry tree to each of the two local schools participating in the Model UN conference.
The King’s School Worcester and Christopher Whitehead Language College were delighted to receive the trees last week but the first to be planted out was with the help of the eco-council at KSW’s prep school, King’s Hawford. On Monday 23 January after H-J had delivered a Chinese New Year assembly to the whole school, the tree was planted in the school’s new ‘Royal Garden.’ Tom Butt, Headmaster, said,
The assembly was interactive and pitched perfectly for our pupils, who were able to learn more not just about Chinese New Year but the environment, innovation, food and wider Chinese culture. We are so grateful for the donation of the beautiful cherry tree, which our Eco-Council has planted on the Top Field at King’s Hawford where, as the Chinese proverb says, “a tree planted now will provide the shade for future generations”. With sustainability and global citizenship at the heart of all we do at King’s Hawford, this was a perfect start to the week!
QGCP was created by Her Majesty the Queen in 2019 during her Platinum Jubilee year to encourage tree planting – not only in the UK but in the commonwealth generally, creating a legacy in honour of The late Queen’s 70 years on the throne, and to benefit current and future generations. “In Worcestershire alone,” said Mrs Britten-Long, “we will have planted about 100,000 trees, all carrying different stories. This is a really special one.”
On Friday 20 January just before Chinese New Year 2023, 200 pupils from 20 schools located across multiple time zones participated in an online Model United Nations conference to debate climate change. The Good Cop Bad Cop2 conference is a student-led event organised by Engage with China, an educational charity that builds China literacy in UK schools. This was its second annual MUN hosted by The Grange School, Cheshire and sponsored by ESG Ai Tech (Shanghai) Ltd 宜斯吉智能科技（上海）有限公司.
Russian delegate studying at St Columba’s, Dublin, who comes from Hong Kong, put the urgency of the conference topic very eloquently;
“it is in humanity’s nature to be foolish..we have allowed it to fester and this has led to the exploitation of our planet… However, a Chinese proverb says 不见棺材不落泪 or ‘only shed tears when you see the coffin’, in other words, it is incumbent on all of us to work cross-culturally, to take responsibility and to keep going to find solutions and prevent disaster.”
Russian delegate
The four-hour long conference included 2.5 hours to debate resolutions agreed by global leaders at COP26 in Sharm El-Sheik.
“During the Lunar New Year, people in the west focus on Chinese culture for a few days but, more generally speaking, young people understand very little about its culture and history. Climate change does not recognise borders and initiatives like Good Cop Bad Cop provides a platform to build cross-cultural skills to enable future collaboration with other countries, including China,”
said H-J Colston-Inge, Director of Engage with China
“By involving Chinese and other international students, we hope to spark the imagination that might impact on pupils’ future subject choices and career paths,” she added. Students heard plenty of articulate voices as the debates worked clause by clause through resolutions. “Each country should contribute what they can,” said a student representing Japan whilst another representing Kenya said, “the countries causing the most damage should pay more.”
As well as a high level of debate, aspiration was built further with the involvement of VIP guest speakers. UK Ambassador to China, Dame Caroline Wilson, who is a mandarin speaker, said,
“Thank you to Engage with China for inviting me to this Good Cop Bad Cop conference. Global cooperation is crucial to tackling climate change. In 2019 the UK became the first major economy to pass legislation to end its contribution to global warming & to achieve net zero greenhouse gases by 2050. COP26 commitments went further…partnerships in China include on Green finance, climate risk & renewable energy.” 兔年快乐！
Dame Caroline Wilson, UK Ambassador to China
Robin Walker, MP for Worcester, was also delighted to hear that two Worcester schools were taking part. Appearing at the conference he said,
As former Minister of Education I was pleased to launch a sustainability and climate change strategy for the department of Education…there is no doubt that we need to see global action and understand the global dynamics and engage constructively on this huge 21st century challenge.”
Good Cop2 montage photos
Robin Walker, MP for Worcester
There was plenty to interest the students as they also heard from other speakers. BBC reporter and founder of environmental think-tank, Isobel Hilton, exhorted the students to “find common understanding…tell your stories..and tell what you know about climate change to family, friends and communities.” Peggy Liu, China’s ‘Green Goddess,’ spoke about “the Holy grail to get us to a (greener) future which includes energy production nuclear fusion and transmission lines that don’t lose energy as they transmit from Sahara desert to Europe.”
Asked why he wanted to participate in the conference, student Ollie R from KSW said, “I was driven to create an environment of eloquent discussion and expression during the conference in order to further my generation’s drive to solve the climate change crisis.” His enthusiasm and interest paid off. Rosie Shearburn, who heads up the MUN at the school said, “My delegation REALLY enjoyed it. What I saw was tremendous. They were completely engrossed in the debate, and the chairing was reported to be the best. In fact, the girls are forming a fan club!”
The Grange School in Cheshire acted as the Host School. Asked at the end of the conference about the experience, Will Smith, Conference President and from The Grange, said,
“it was a really wonderful experience to chair such a great event – especially to be its President. The standard of debate was very high and some of the delegations really, really excelled themselves, including the schools representing Brazil, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Russia.. We passed three clauses and three amendents.”
William Smith, Y13 student, Good Cop Bad Cop2 MUN conference President
Feedback from other schools was similarly positive. Mrs Gray, Head of Geography at St Wilfrid’s RC College said, “What an amazing student-led conference. Empowering young people to become involved in global politics and issues that will impact them was fantastic… Our Year 13 students have said they will not forget this experience and our current Year 12 students said they can’t wait to take part again next year.”
Two schools took part from China, dialling into the conference just one day before Chinese New Year’s Eve. Piao Yiwen from Changchun Foreign Language School and who chaired Resolution 3 on Compensation for loss and damage, said, “it was such an honour to debate with such wonderful and talented students. This was such an academic meeting and enhanced our learning. Thank you!”
Students from six schools involved in the Mandarin Excellence Programme were involved. This is a UK government funded programme to boost mandarin language learning and fluency. This conference added value by widening their China-related learning and some of the mandarin learners gave the Chinese students a Happy New Year message in mandarin.
Christopher Whitehead Language College in Worcester will share their interest in Chinese culture by being involved in the Chinese New Year celebrations this Sunday, 29 January in the city. Details on our resources page.
Engage Wih China 