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Wednesday 22nd to Friday 25th October saw our Grade 5 pupils embark on their residential trip to Shaoxing. After weeks of preparation, the pupils were all excited to take on three days of outdoor activities linked to their Chinese literature studies. Meaningful learning experiences were had, but equally importantly, lifelong memories were made.
Shaoxing was chosen as the location of the residential trip as it is the home of the famous Chinese Author Lu Xun, whom our pupils have been studying in class at Huili School.
As a result, pupils visited his home and had a traditional Chinese classroom experience – dressing up and following the teacher’s instructions as Lu Xun would have done around 100 years ago!
Furthermore, being a water town, its geographical features made it the perfect location for some outdoor adventures.
Grade 5 enjoyed a day of kayaking and conquered their fears during rock climbing. All the teachers were overwhelmed by the amount of teamwork shown as they cheered on their peers (and even teachers) to keep climbing and even take the ‘leap of faith’.
Pupils also had the chance to enjoy several rich Chinese cultural experiences at Shaoxing, including an immersive theatre show which explored the stories of Lu Xun. They also experienced the local Shaoxing Chinese Opera. Pupils dressed up in traditional costumes and even performed on stage.
When asked about their particular highlights and favourite moments, pupils found it difficult to narrow their list down to just a handful of memories. Working as a team to manoeuvre the kayak correctly around the river was mentioned repeatedly. This, along with the opportunity to get to know their peers in a different environment, has helped them to develop stronger friendships which they will surely take back into Huili School life. Many pupils also identified the ‘scavenger hunt’ in Lu Town as a favourite activity of the trip. During this fun and challenging search, house bonds grew stronger as pupils used their problem-solving skills to answer a series of questions to achieve a common goal. Ultimately, the pupils of Grade 5 have showcased all the Huili Values as they proudly represented Huili School outside of the classroom and fully embraced every opportunity for learning that they were offered. Pupils’ Memories “Seeing the teachers take part in all the activities was great fun. It made me want to do it even more. Mr Hannan looked funny in the traditional Chinese classroom uniform (long gown).”—— Johnny from 5A “I liked the climbing. At first, I was too scared but when I gave it a go, it was easy and I reached the top 5 times!”——Chloe from 5B
A word from the parents Following the trip, our G5 parents wanted to share their gratitude and appreciation for the care and hard work demonstrated by the Huili staff throughout the tour.
They were particularly impressed by the consistently high levels of safety, security and communication enabled by staff as part of Huili’s safeguarding measures. This allowed parents to relax and look forward to hearing all about their children’s trip, safe in the knowledge that they were being well cared for. “The teachers take care of each pupil just as they would for their own children.” “We are deeply impressed by the encouragement and positive discipline enforced by Huili’s teachers, which enables our children to achieve their potential and always look for ways to better themselves. We also understand it is our teachers’ extraordinary knowledge, abilities and caring nature that makes this happen.” “The Shaoxing Tour was such an unforgettable experience for all G5 pupils. Especially for my daughter, she found it to be an enlightening journey and she has discovered plenty of new things about herself.”
A journey of self discovery
Huili aims to give all of its pupils every chance to improve not only their academic abilities but also a wide range of physical, mental, social and interpersonal skills.
This is why residential tours and out-of-classroom experiences form an essential part of our holistic educational offering; we want every Huili pupil to be well prepared for all the rigours and challenges that modern life will present.
We are very proud of the conduct of our Grade 5s during this trip and they should be equally proud of what they have achieved.
