Senior students from the British International School Shanghai participated in charity projects during the Pudong school's Activity Week on November 6-10.

 

One group of year 10 and 11 students went to Anhui Province. They traveled from Shanghai to Hefei City by train and spent two days at Sanshitou Primary, a school sponsored by Save The Children and BISS Pudong.

 

The students at BISS Pudong have been raising money for the past 18 months. Last year they were able to visit and present Sanshitou School with a check for 53,000 yuan (US$6,625).

 

The purpose of this latest trip was to spend time together and further develop the friendship between the two schools.

 

The students of BISS and the host school took part in a variety of cultural exchanges, including teaching, playing games, making and eating dumplings together and singing.

 

As part of the service component of the trip, they also planted trees and brightened up the basketball court by painting a beautiful mural with a theme of friendship.

 

Another group of 20 year 10 and 11 students came up with the idea of raising money for charity by marching along the Great Wall.

 

The plan was to walk 20 kilometers within two days over the less well known parts of the Great Wall north of Beijing.

 

The students completed the section from Jinshanling to Simatai. This part is an original, unrestored 400-year-old section known as the "Wild Wall," in an area with dramatic scenery and challenging steps and gradients.

 

As part of their International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, 24 year 12 students traveled to Guizhou Province. They went to a remote rural village with the goal of providing the new primary school with running water and setting up two new basketball backstops.

 

The students hiked in and out of the village covering a distance of more than 22 kilometers.

 

They stayed in the village with local families, working on a variety of tasks, including digging more than 150 meters of ditches, helping construct small reservoirs, installing a water pipe connecting a spring to the new primary school, and building its toilet block.

 

In addition, this was tied into the general village water supply and increasing water security and fresh supplies for the whole village.

 

One group of year seven, eight and nine students flew to Hong Kong, while another flew to Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and traveled on to Yangshuo.

 

Both groups took part in a variety of outdoor activities.

 

In Hong Kong, the students slept under canvas and cooked their meals on an open fire. In Yangshuo, they visited caves and rode camels.

 

Paul Turner, assistant principal of the school, said: "We're extremely proud of our students, they represented themselves and the school very well indeed. The feedback has been terrific and we're already planning next year's trips."

 

(Shanghai Daily November 22, 2006)