The Spring Term of 2022 saw the launch of an exciting new partnership between Pate’s and the Xiehe Education Group in China, and specifically their Shanghai United International Schools (SUIS) in Qingpu and Wuxi. Teachers have since been working together via a Microsoft Teams platform, that has been built solely for the purpose of our collaboration, where we are sharing good practice and exchanging teaching and learning resources.
Students at SUIS Qingpu are studying International GCSE and International A Level courses, following specifications examined by Cambridge International Education, and sit all of their examinations in English. Our collaboration bridges the five subject areas of economics, maths, physics, chemistry, and biology. We have run several CPD sessions, where teachers from our two schools work together, sharing ideas and resources using Microsoft Teams, and have more planned this year.
Many students from SUIS schools apply to universities in the UK. The sixth form team at Pate’s has been providing some insight on the process for the SUIS teachers as well as some online sessions for the sixth form students in China, including 1:1 sessions to help students prepare for university interviews.
At Pate’s, students on the Mandarin Excellence Programme will benefit from meeting with their peers in Shanghai. In the first instance, and with the current travel restrictions, this part of our collaboration is currently online, with students corresponding through Microsoft Teams and talking together on video calls. But in the longer term we plan a series of study visits for staff and students, which will provide a great opportunity for our own language students as well as bringing the broader benefits of cultural and academic exchange.
We very much look forward to welcoming staff and students from the Xiehe Education Group to Pate’s in the coming months and years—both on our screens and in our classrooms.
Jon Scott – International Projects Coordinator
March 2023