Dartford Grammar School which is linked to Shixi High School in Shanghai reached the final of a Mandarin speaking competition which took place at the British Museum.

Paul Tyskerud, their teacher, said the competition "offered a fantastic opportunity for his students to put their classroom learning into action" adding that it was very motivational to hear other young people speaking Chinese so well.

Pupils From Dartford Grammar have been talking about learning Mandarin.

Some have a practical view for business in the future  - "China is a good place to go to do business and I want a good career" - and going out to dinner - "it's great to impress my friends by ordering in Chinese at my local restaurant." 

Another pupil talked about cultural connections developed through learning another language: "I've got Asian friends, and you learn to respect people by learning their language."

Pupils plan to send a DVD of their performance in the group category to Shixi High School.

They are also planning their next visit to their partner school which will involve working together on a geography project as well as a basketball competition.

Darford school competed in the group category.  Dartford pupils competed in the group category with their performance of 'Dui Main de nu hai kan guo lai' which translates as 'The Girl Opposite, look over here'.

The group winners were Wellington College for their drama presentation, ‘Misunderstanding’.

How did they do that?

The competition was organised by the British Council and funded by the HSBC Global Education Programme to support and promote the teaching of Chinese as a modern foreign language in UK schools.

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