The EPC China Experience – Chengdu 2023

We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded a grant for a fully funded trip to China for up to 30 pupils.

This trip will be funded by The Turing Scheme, the UK government’s programme to provide funding for international opportunities in education and training across the world. It supports Global Britain by providing an opportunity for UK organisations from the higher education, further education, vocational education and training and schools sectors to offer their students, learners and pupils life-changing experiences to study or work abroad.

Our core belief is that our college is a place where all children can learn.  We expect all adults and pupils to model positive behaviours based on Moral Virtues of Respect, Integrity, Courage, Honesty, Justice and Compassion (our cultural capital).  Our vision also centres on providing the right environment for every child to flourish by building learning communities in partnerships with others (our social capital).  The Turing project will enable us to widen horizons.  Visiting China will be a life-changing experience.  It’s distance, culture, values, language, educational expectations, and politics have much to offer our pupils and wider community.

The project will launch with an exchange of postcards to introduce the pupils to each other, arranged by our partner ‘Global School Alliance’.

Throughout the project pupils will prepare and deliver a series of presentations and short videos which will be shared online, through social media and face-to-face with Mandarin/English pupils during the visit. Pupils will also make presentations in their own school to their peers, teachers and governors upon their return.

During the visit pupils will complete a written diary as a record of their experiences, a lasting memory of their physical and spiritual journey.

As all of the presentations, videos and diary entries are intrinsically linked to our ‘Be More’ curriculum, a 5-year progressive experience for all.  Upon completion, pupils are awarded a Bronze, Silver and Gold Award.  The visit to China through the project will benefit the most disadvantaged students in terms of access.  The most difficult element to achieve for a disadvantaged pupil will be those with higher cost implications. Therefore, this project will enrich the experiences of the most disadvantaged students enabling them to achieve

Some of the elements that make up the award include:

• Take part in residential experience
• Meet a person people who can widen your knowledge of the world
• Take part in an international experience
• Lead a project
• Perform or present to an audience in or out of school to represent school in an activity

We will also use student voice activities to demonstrate increased confidence and self-belief, and to measure enhanced aspirations for future study and career opportunities, including those abroad, as well as evaluating the impact the project has had upon student performance in other curriculum areas.

The project will also enhance relationships between the students and their peers as they learn to work collaboratively and also between teachers and students as they share experiences.

The trip will be open to pupils across all key stages. Further information around the trip and how to apply will be available soon.