Gainsborough: Queen Elizabeth’s goes international as Chinese partner school visits

Lessons at Queen Elizabeth’s High School in Gainsborough had an oriental flavour recently when teachers from their partner school in Tangshan, China, paid a visit.
Pupils at Queen Elizabeth's High School in Gainsborough are taught by Ms Yang Xinghua from their partner school Tangshan Oriental Bilingual School in ChinaPupils at Queen Elizabeth's High School in Gainsborough are taught by Ms Yang Xinghua from their partner school Tangshan Oriental Bilingual School in China
Pupils at Queen Elizabeth's High School in Gainsborough are taught by Ms Yang Xinghua from their partner school Tangshan Oriental Bilingual School in China

Queen Elizabeth’s has established strong links with the Tangshan Oriental Bilingual School over the past year.

Gill Dunmore, a languages teacher visited Tangshan over Easter and Frances Collingham, a geography teacher is due to visit in the summer.

This latest event between the two schools saw Tangshan headmistress, Ms Yang Xinghua and the school chairman, Mr Zhang Guofu visit Gainsborough.

They me staff and pupils over their two-day visit, listened to a music recital by the school string quartet, visited lessons, tried a school dinner and even taught a lesson or two.

They also discussed the next steps in forging a stronger link between the schools.

A highlight of the visit for staff and students alike was a joint lesson between Year 7 students in China and those at Queen Elizabeth’s, via a Skype link.

The visitors were hugely impressed with what they saw, both in the school and when visiting Gainsborough town centre.

Ms Yang was most impressed with the interest shown by Year 7 geography students in the Tangshan earthquake of 1976 and enjoyed sharing her personal experiences of the event.

Mr Zhang was also very keen to return and watch Gainsborough Trinity play at home.

David Allsop, Queen Elizabeth’s headteacher, described the visit as a huge success, saying, “It is important that our students are well equipped to meet the challenges of an increasingly international workplace.”

“Forging links with Tangshan Oriental Bilingual School is a key step in helping them to achieve this.”

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