School welcomes Chinese guests
ALL Hallows Catholic College welcomed their Chinese partner school with open arms last week.
Three staff from the partner school in Xi’an visited the Macclesfield college to mark the on-going relationship between the two establishments.
A bond was formed with the ancient city of Xi’an when the Principal, Mr Billings visited in 2010.
He said: “There was a group of Cheshire heads that went out to make these links to work out a long term relationship with schools there.”
And pupils at the Macclesfield college are now enjoying diverse history lessons learning about ancient Chinese culture.
As well as unique history lessons, pupils are exploring eastern languages as this year marks the first sitting of a Mandarin GCSE exam.
Mr Billings added: “It’s just wonderful to educate the children in a broad world view, and it’s important for them to learn about the world around them.”
And the children are fully embracing their new cultural opportunities by joining in with their Chinese friends’ annual celebrations.
Mr Billings said: “We now do things like celebrate Chinese New Year, and they know more about religion and culture in China.
“The students have also started learning about the terracotta warriors, and we’ve even had outdoor assemblies.
“In many schools, when you look at the history curriculum, its focus is very narrow, looking at World War One and Two, and we want to give the students a wider world view than that.”
All Hallows School has also introduced an outdoor table tennis area which has seen some pupils reaching the county finals.
Students at the Macclesfield college are now gearing up for the ultimate lesson in Chinese culture, by taking a trip to the Xi’an region.
Mr Billings said: “The idea would be for them to spend at least a week embedded in the life of the school and learn how they do things their end.”
Chinese staff visiting the college said they were overwhelmed by the welcome they received and hope to continue and expand the relationship they have with the schools in 2015 and beyond.
Teachers at All Hallows College have also been showing Chinese staff cooperative learning methods for pupil interaction.