About the Host School

Dalian No 24 Middle School covers an area of 2,944 square meters. The school campus includes a complete Science laboratory wing, library, an art building and an auditorium. The school also obtains a outside tennis court, 3 badminton courts, 3 basketball courts, 4 volleyball courts, and a table tennis training hall.

There are about 1500 students registered in the entire school, and they range in age from 15-18. 14 of them are registered as AS students and 47 of them are registered as IGCSE students of the A-Level centre at the school. The school holds an enthusiastic, loyal, studious teaching team with a sense of service, collaboration, innovation and dedication to our students.

The school’s mission is to blend the best of Chinese and western education advantages and to establish a modern, technological, network-based education model. The school is committed to the needs of the times and to cultivate the future elites.

“People-Oriented, Advocating Perfect, Striving for Excellence” and “Relying on High-Quality Courses to Educate Innovative Talents” are the ethos that capture the uniqueness of Dalian No.24 Middle School.

The A Level Centre

The A level centre opened in 2011, with 14 students registered as AS students and 47 students registered as IGCSE students of the A-Level centre at the school. The school holds an enthusiastic, loyal, studious teaching team with a sense of service, collaboration, innovation and dedication to our students.

“People-Oriented, Advocating Perfect, Striving for Excellence” and “Relying on High-Quality Courses to Educate Innovative Talents” are mottos that capture the uniqueness of Dalian No.24 Middle School.

Lifestyle

Dalian is a historical and innovative city with Usiian influenced architecture and a coastline. There are many things to do in Dalian, and our teachers enjoy strolling through the seaside protected areas and statue gardens and participating in the tai chi and English corner meetings in the parks. If you are an adventurous sort, try noodles, dumplings, or grilled seafood at one of the many snack stands in town.

Teacher Case Study

Kayleigh Holt, A-level Teacher

My formal educational background consists of a degree in Biochemistry with Medical Biochemistry and a PGCE in Secondary Science. I have one year of teaching experience in the UK school system, and I am now very excited to start the development of the A-level Chemistry curriculum at Dalian No.24 High School.

Prior to teaching, I worked in the science industry for just over two years. Working as part of a team and sharing good practice and ideas are some of the skills I bring as a teacher. I believe these are essential in making the A-level centre at Dalian an exceptional educational provider for Chinese students. My Chinese colleagues have provided a wealth of information and help regarding my move to China and settling in on a long-term basis; without their assistance, I cannot imagine how stressful the process would have been.

Teaching Chemistry in China will be an amazing experience, China’s own education and research system when it comes to Science is becoming one of the best in the world, being part of that is something that excites me greatly. Students are engaged in their own learning and willing to do anything necessary in order to reach their full potential, a quality that is not found as abundantly in UK students.

As the sole Chemistry teacher at Dalian, my focus this year is to develop and teach the Chemistry curriculum, with a specific focus on ensuring English is being reinforced throughout. It is extremely important to break the language barrier and ensure all students have the same opportunities and quality of teaching, a challenge that is indeed very possible. The students own motivation and determination will make play a huge role in their success in the coming years!

I am thoroughly enjoying my time in Dalian: the beautiful scenery, delicious cuisine and friendly locals. Whilst in China, I plan to visit other parts of the country as well as hopefully, travel parts of Asia.

» See teacher case studies from all schools

Student Case Study

Isaiah, A-level center of Dalian No.24 Senior High School

When did you start at the A Level/AP Centre and how would you describe your experience there?

I started at the A level centre in this September. So far everything here is awesome. I enjoy the time I spent with the teachers who are dedicated, knowledgeable, and humorous. The lessons we have are different from those I took in the first year for there are fewer students in class, enabling us to participate more in class and interact more with teachers. There are also many activities here such as video challenge and poster competition for Halloween. All of these contribute to making experience here wonderful.

What are the benefits of you personally in studying in this programme?

As we are all going to go abroad for further education, the most important benefit brought to us is that we can get used to the classes taught all by English in advance and get better prepared for the academic and daily life abroad. What’s more, studying here can also improve our English level in various areas such as reading, listening, writing and speaking etc, which could also make us better prepared for the tests we are about to take in the future such as TOEFl, IELTs, SAT and SAT2.

What are/have been the challenges for you personally in studying in the programme?

The main problem is time-deficiency. The A-Level courses aren’t easy to learn, which take us a lot of time to go through the text books and finish all the questions in order to get “A”s. Meanwhile we have to deal with TOEFL, SATs or other standard tests required for applying for our dream schools. We can neither drop our Chinese courses for we have to take a test called “Huikao”, one designed to see if you are qualified to graduate from senior high school, in March 2012. What’s more, extracurricular activities are also a vital part for our application and they’re always time-consuming. All of these have to be done by the end of 2012 and time isn’t really enough.

What do you think your plans are for university/college?

I intend to get all “A”s for all of the subjects next May and now I’m busy studying SAT s and doing all kinds of practice in order to get ready for them. By the end of next October I shall have had all the grades required. From now to the deadline of application of university I would also do some charity works regularly and organize my school club properly.

» See student case studies from all schools