Visiting a Chinese school

Planning a visit

It can take several months to plan and organise a visit. It is important to ensure that the visit is planned with your contacts at the Chinese school so that the experience can be rewarding for all involved. It is necessary to consider the timing of a visit carefully to avoid any conflicts with holidays, exams or busy periods at school which would make it difficult for a Chinese school to host a visit. A visit requires a letter of invitation from the Chinese school, specifying the purpose of the visit and the dates, to aid the visa application. The logistics of travel arrangements, insurance and vaccinations need to be organised by the individual and carefully planned.

Things you can do to prepare

The visit itself is often relatively short so it needs to be well planned to ensure it is effective and as successful as possible. These are some ideas:

1. Share information about the visit with staff, students, your local community and your local authority's international adviser, through your school website, school newsletter, letters to parents, assemblies, articles in the local newspaper and emails. 
2. Set up a noticeboard about the link school and visit to enthuse people and get other people involved. It is important that as many staff as possible are involved in the school link.
3. Create a scrapbook on your school with lots of photos of students, staff, equipment, facilities and lessons as well as images of the local area. Also try to create a scrapbook of messages from students introducing themselves as it will give your partner school an idea about the students.
4. Write to local businesses to ask for donations of gifts to take to the partner school, as well as an official gift from the local council.
5. Read case studies of visits by other people to set up school links which are available online, such as through the British Council or League for the Exchange of Commonwealth Teachers (LECT).
6. Talk to people who have been on visits to set up school links, particularly to the country of your link. Details can be obtained through the international adviser at your local authority and through school-linking organisations.
7. Read as much literature on school linking as possible, such as the UKOWLA Toolkit for Good Practice, DFID Global Schools Partnership Programme, Global Gateway from the Department for Children, Schools and Families, and British Council websites.
8. Draft a partnership agreement in conjunction with the headteacher to ensure that the aims of the link are clear. It is a good idea to read examples of other partnership agreements from other schools and most schools seem happy to share them if contacted directly. The British Council has good information on partnership agreements.
9. Talk to departments in school about possible curriculum projects that they might be interested in; ask what they need from you in terms of resources and information to be gained during the visit.
10. Read guidebooks about the country of your link school to learn and understand more about its culture, customs and etiquette.
11. Prepare a speech for an official welcome, including a PowerPoint presentation about your school or local area with information and images and if possible a short video.
12. Make some business cards as these are commonly used in China.

Read about Chinese customs

It is worth reading about Chinese customs and etiquette before a visit as they are quite different from those in the UK.

For instance:

• It is common in China to give gifts to thank people, even for small things.
• Being late is considered rude.
• There is generally a high level of formality.

Perhaps the most important thing for consideration is the etiquette surrounding meals. Seating arrangements are important, with the guest of honour at the centre and the next most important person to the left. The Chinese also make lots of toasts, either to everyone or to individuals, and everyone stands up for these. It is important to reciprocate toasts. Whilst at the table, any cup that is empty will be filled! The Chinese will also take the indication from you whether to order more food or continue eating if they see you are still eating. Chopsticks are used at every meal so it is a good idea to be proficient at using them. There is a whole etiquette simply associated with chopsticks. (Source: Jones, K, and Pan, A, 'Culture Shock! Beijing', Marshall Cavendish, 2006)

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