SHS in the News

East meets West: Sixth Formers from SHS selected for innovative summer school in China

Students from Sheffield High off to China!

Four students from Sheffield High School will be joining others from the UK and China this summer in a unique week-long event to develop their creative, leadership and teamwork skills in a pioneering international partnership.

Twenty four Sixth Formers from Notre Dame, Silverdale and Sheffield High School, will participate in the GDST Summer School which is taking place from 22nd to 27th June at The University of Nottingham Ningbo China, supported by HSBC.

Highlights:
• The theme of the summer school is ‘Celebrating cultural diversity through teamwork and innovation’, and will focus on developing leadership and creativity skills as part of working in a team, as well as demonstrating the importance of diversity and the ability to work well with others.

• The summer school will involve 60 Year 12 Sixth Form students, both girls and boys, from GDST and HSBC schools in the UK (and almost half from Sheffield!), and 30 undergraduate students from The University of Nottingham Ningbo, China. The UK students are from ten GDST schools and three HSBC-supported schools in an innovative independent-state school partnership, sponsored by the HSBC Global Education Trust.

• The summer school is supported by a team of 20 experienced trainers, educational specialists and speakers who are leaders in their field.

• The summer school will have a Beijing Olympics focus, with student teams devising their own ‘DIY Olympics’, giving presentations on sports, and also building their own Chinese dragons over the course of the week and ‘racing’ them.

Miss Jean Goodwin, Director of Studies at Sheffield High School said
“We’re delighted that our students have the chance to take part in such an exciting international initiative. Selection criteria were stringent including having to write an essay in support of their application. It really is the opportunity of a lifetime and they will get so much out of it. We expect that they will share their experience and insights with the other students here students when they return.”

Providing an international dimension to students’ education is a key strand of the GDST’s strategic plan over the next few years. The GDST has been developing links with schools in China over the past two years. This Summer School is one of the many ways in which the GDST supports its students and prepares them for leadership roles in a global society and work in a global economy.