Best of both worlds

The Beijing Concord College of Sino-Canada is the answer to students wishing to be exposed to both the sciences and liberal arts in senior high school. Guo Shuhan reports.

Han Jing transferred from a key provincial-level high school - much sought after by academically strong students who enter pre-eminent Chinese universities - to Beijing Concord College of Sino-Canada (BCCSC), a private boarding school located away from her hometown in Hebei province. After two semesters, she is confident she made the right choice.

Last September, Han was ready for second-grade science at Langfang No 1 Middle School. She would have had to take few liberal arts courses, such as geography and history, the next two years as science students are not tested in these subjects on the National College Entrance Examination.

"I'm also interested in arts courses. Since some subjects are not needed for the national exam, students have few opportunities to study them. (I think) such separation (of science and arts subjects) imprisons a student's mind," Han says.

That led her to BCCSC, which is operated by the Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University, the Canadian New Brunswick's Education Department and Canada AKD International. It's the first cooperative school of this kind in China and open to students nationwide.

She now studies not only science and the liberal arts but also gets to choose from about 30 optional courses every semester.

"Students have a right to learn the things they are interested in and to tap their potential," Wang Benzhong, principal and co-founder of BCCSC, says.

"Besides the compulsory courses, schools should offer elective classes so youngsters can get a well-rounded education," he says.

Wang was principal of the Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University before he became involved with BCCSC.

From 1984 to 1992, Wang tried to introduce a similar curriculum at his former high school - with the required courses being run in the mornings and optional courses in the afternoons, besides several after-school extra curricular activities - at a time when optional courses were not available at any other high school in China.

"We were informed by Tsinghua University in 1992 that our graduates dominated three groups of students - student leaders, scholarship winners and those gifted in specific subjects," Wang says.

"This showed that our reforms had not only helped maintain students' outstanding academic performance, but also offered them a platform to develop their talents."

But the system had to be abandoned halfway as students faced more citywide unified exams every year, forcing them to concentrate on their required courses.

But Wang was not discouraged and found another opportunity to make his dream happen when he met Francis Pang, a Canadian educator of Chinese origin, and co-founded BCCSC in 1997.

At BCCSC, Wang has taken his ambitions even further. Besides academic knowledge, he also wants his students to master the "abilities of global thinking, collaboration and leadership, and social responsibility", which they need to adapt to an ever-changing world.

The school offers bilingual courses that combine both Chinese and Canadian curriculums taught by teachers from both countries. Graduates receive double high school diplomas issued by both countries.

Through project-based leaning, students are encouraged to complete assignments in groups.

Students are also expected to spend one semester in high school in Canada and stay with local families, so they can experience a foreign culture.

Those wishing to pursue their university studies abroad get to earn university credits by taking the school's advanced placement courses, which are generally recognized to be equivalent to undergraduate courses in overseas colleges participating in the program.

Last year, some of the students spontaneously launched the Love and Sunshine Foundation with 100,000 yuan ($15,460) in initial funds sponsored by the school. An additional 150,000 yuan has been raised by the students by holding concerts and from donations by parents.

The foundation has benefited some 50 orphans in Yunnan province aged 7 to 13, who will be invited to spend a few days in the capital this month. Their tuition fee will be subsidized untill they reach the age of 18.

In the past 14 years, all of more than 6,000 graduates, from BCCSC and its Shenzhen campus in Guangdong province established in 2001 have entered universities, with most studying abroad. More than 80 percent of them snared scholarships.

A new batch of nearly 500 graduates will earn their degrees on Saturday at this year's graduation ceremony held, as always, in the Great Hall of the People.

Despite its sparkling history, BCCSC knows there is room to improve to meet the new demands of its students.

The school is also planning to expand its exchange program to include high schools in the United States and the United Kingdom.

To reach out to more students, a new campus has been established in Wuhu in Anhui province this year, and two more will open in 2012 in Changsha, Hunan province, and Chongqing Municipality.

"I'm pleased to hear from some of the graduates that they now hold executive positions," Andy H. Truong, executive director of BCCSC, says.

"It's a confirmation of the school's education, which gives us confidence and keeps the school moving forward."

(China Daily 07/09/2011 page11)