In 1998, Mr.Chamberlin, the headteacher of Arden School, visited Shanghai as a member of an Education Delegation organised by the British Council. This was followed by a reciprocal visit to the UK in 1999 by Mr. Xi, the Deputy Principal of Shanghai World Foreign Language Middle School. The two schools have since then made mutual efforts in the development of a sister-school partnership, which lead to an official agreement on exchange programmes as a milestone in 2003.

So far, two teachers from Arden and three from SWFLMS have taught in their partner school.  Dozens of pupils of the two schools have become e-pals. This has helped the pupils from both sides understand each other’s customs and cultures, as well as practice the language they learn (pupils from Arden sometimes write to their friends at SWFLMS in pinyin).

2003 witnessed a further development of the partnership: thirteen pupils from each school headed by one teacher enjoyed a three-week visit to the partner school. During that time, each school organised various programmes for cultural exchange and mutual understanding.

2004 will be another fruitful year for the partnership, with a visit from the present Headteacher of Arden, Mrs Green, in late March, and a three-week exchange programme of two teachers and fourteen pupils from each school in April and June. What’s more, the two schools have decided to exchange findings in educational research. With the establishment of an online platform, SWFLMS is planning to host theme discussions on issues related to world sustainable development.   

Baxian Middle School in Chongqing and Dixie Grammar School in the UK

In 2001, a preliminary Investigation into the quality of water in the Chang Jiang River near Yudong was conducted by the pupils of Baxian Middle School and Dixie Grammar School. The working group consisted of five UK pupils and thirteen Chinese pupils, and was led by the science teachers from both sides.

The joint project aimed to test the river water for levels of:

•Nitrogenous Chemicals

•Phosphates

•PH

•Dissolved oxygen

•Velocity

•Turbidity

Four sites were identified and tests were carried out successfully at all sites. The tools and indicator keys employed (chemical or biological), though designed for use on British rivers, proved to be applicable for use in China. All the Chinese pupils quickly grasped the idea of each test and were able to perform them competently, unassisted, after a short amount of time. A report was drafted based on the data collected.

The pupils gained a valuable experience from the activity -- through the process of carrying out the experiment themselves, they learned the necessary theories and how to apply them in practice. This gave them a taste of how science operates in the world outside of the classroom. It also brought together the pupils of both schools and gave them a shared objective to work towards.