Jun. 2011

On Friday 23rd June 24 students and 4 teachers from Huayuancun Primary school in Beijing China visited St. Joseph's College for the day as part of their 7 day visit to London.

They had a Mathematics lesson on Code Breaking with Mr. Skinner and a Music lesson with Mr. Sanders, before having lunch with a group of SJC students who are studying Mandarin.

In the afternoon the visited 2 of our feeder primary schools, St. Anselms in Tooting and St. Helens in Brixton.

Visits from Chinese school students are now a regular occurrence because of the links we have developed through our Confucius Classroom status.

The next visit is from 16 students and 3 teachers from the Changzheng Secondary school, Shanghai. They will be with us on 4 days in July and we will visit their school in Shanghai 2 weeks later during the our summer immersion course in China.

Below are some pictures of the visit;

Mar. 2011

Mandarin Chinese Speaking Competition 2011

Talented students from schools across the UK have shown off their linguistic skills in the grand final of HSBC/British Council Mandarin Chinese speaking competition.

After more than 400 entries and two regional heats, six St. Joseph's College students competed at the British Museum on 10 March 2011.

The following clip by the BBC and British Council shows the highlight of the competition, where our school is the biggest mention amongst all schools. Well done to all the students involved.

(The performers in orange costumes are SJC boys.)

UK students in Mandarin Chinese speaking competition from British Council on Vimeo.

More videos related to this event, please refer to:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12748780

Jan. 2011

Chinese Vice Prime Minister’s reception

SJC Confucius Classroom's teacher and students were invited to attend Chinese Vice Prime Minister's reception at the British Museum on 11 January. Together with representatives from another three selected UK Confucius Institutes (TCM, LSE and SOAS), our students performed and conversed in mandarin with the Vice Prime Minister.

Please click here to see the news on the biggest China TV channel about this event.

http://www.hanban.edu.cn/article/2011-01/12/content_217081.htm

SJC Confucius Classroom's work honoured by Chinese vice Prime Minister, Li Keqiang.

Ms Xiao, Head of Mandarin and Confucius Classroom, told Vice Prime Minister about the work of SJC Confucius Classroom, including the provision of a platform for 500+ boys in the college and 400+ pupils in 7 local primary schools to study Mandarin, to experience China, to communicate with Chinese partner schools.

Gabriel (Yr11), Dylan (Yr9) and Max (Yr8), three brothers from Sassi Galindo family, are all studying Mandarin at St. Joseph's. They presented stunning performances to Vice Prime Minister, including a Chinese song "London Welcomes You" and a Confucius Quotations talk-show. The whole delegation group were deeply touched by their magnificent performance and gave the brothers long-lasting applause. Gabriel presented a beautifully hand-made Chinese card to Vice Prime Minister and had a warm Mandarin conversation with him.

The Vice Prime Minister seemed both relaxed and encouraged at the high standard of spoken Mandarin of UK young people. As language is a means of communication and breaking down cultural barriers, it is vital that more Brits take up mandarin as a second language.

Background Story:
Vice Prime Minister Li Keqiang visits the UK - "a warm breeze blows from China"

Prime Minister David Cameron's visit to China in November 2010 had a positive impact on bi-lateral relations as well as trade contracts. Giant pandas for Edinburgh Zoo as a gift from China last week during Vice Prime Minister, Li Keqiang's visit to the UK, are a symbol of the "warm breeze" and the warming nature of the Sino-UK relationship.

China's economy grew 10.3% in 2010, marking the fastest annual pace in the world since the onset of the global crisis.

Dec. 2010

Mandarin-speakers from St. Joseph's College
Show Off Their X Factor

8 students showed off their linguistic skills at the regional heats of the HSBC/British Council Mandarin Chinese Speaking Competition at the London School of Economics. They competed against 300 other students from schools across England and Wales on 13 December, to win a place in the final at the British Museum in March.

Our 8 contestents were:

D. Sassi Galindo (Yr9)
D. Dossou (Yr9)
B. Gabato (Yr9)
Y. Javaid (Yr9)
T. Tigere (Yr9)
W. Adaken-Garjah (Yr10)
H. Modeste (Yr11)
A. Chapman (Yr12)

The competition supports and promotes the teaching of Mandarin Chinese in UK schools. St Joseph's College students have entered the competition for the past 3 years. Our best result was the 2nd place in the UK, and our student won a free trip to Beijing.

X-Factor style regional heats are taking place in London and Newcastle, with only the best being invited to attend the final at the British Museum on 10 March 2011 - where they could win a visit to China.

The result of the regional heat will be announced by the New Year.

Martin Davidson, Chief Executive of the British Council and fluent Chinese speaker, said: "Future success for the UK will in large part depend on our ability to communicate internationally - and China will be an important partner for us. Developing a real understanding of China will be key to the relationship, and learning Mandarin will help to ensure our young people have the intercultural skills to communicate effectively. This competition is a chance to reward students who are making the effort to master the Chinese language."

Ms Xiao was interviewed by Gabby and Paul on their BBC London radio breakfast show to give them an insight into the Mandarin department at St Joseph's College and how well our boys are progressing.