1. What are secondary schools like?
Secondary schools are for pupils from Grade 7 to Grade 9 which would be equivalent to our Year 8 to Year 10. Secondary pupils start school at 7:00am and finish at around 6:00pm. They have a 10 minute break after every lesson.
3D printing

2. What are secondary schools like?
Pupils in secondary school study similar subjects to what English pupils study. They are also able to choose an elective technology subject to study for one hour a week. Some of the possible options include robot innovation, electronic fabrications, creative building models, minecraft, knitting, cross stitch and flower arranging.

4. What are secondary schools like?
All the schools we visited in Yangzhou were very well kept and often furnished with beautiful gardens, plants and greenery to create a tranquil environment in which the pupils can study.

5. What are secondary schools like?
Many of the schools in China have their own museums which tell the history of the school and gives information about its teachers and their hobbies. The one we visited also had a glory board which shows which awards the teachers have received and where they rank provincially and nationally.

6. Whilst visiting a secondary school in Yangzhou, we were taken to the school’s own technology design exhibition which depicted a range of different inventions made by the pupils many of which had won local and national competitions. The exhibits included a bike lock which is stored in the handlebars of the bike and a window guard rail which turned into an emergency fire escape ladder.

7. What are high schools like?
During our stay in China, we visited Yangzhou High School which is one of the most prestigious schools in the province and pupils have to take an entrance exam to get a place. A former president was one of its pupils. In high school, which includes pupils from Grade 10 to Grade 12 (pupils from 17 to 19), the students start school at 7:00am and finish at 8:00pm.

8. What are high schools like?
During our visit, we took a tour of their new STEM building. The sheer size of the school site and beauty of its surrounding environment was quite staggering.