As we move beyond the shadow of Covid and with many of our families embracing travel with renewed enthusiasm, Ann Li (International Enrolments Manager, Language and Futures Teacher) and I travelled to China during the second week of the term break to explore opportunities for expanding St Peter’s Girls’ Global Academy and to investigate the potential for teacher exchange programs. Post-Covid, our Global Academy has provided students with opportunities to participate in service learning in Fiji and on the APY Lands, student exchanges to Methodist Ladies College in Western Australia and Sherborne School in the United Kingdom, the Emily Music Tour to Canberra Girls Grammar, and the ANZAC and the Renaissance Study Tours to Europe. We know that such experiences not only build character but also expand our students’ global perspectives as they engage with diverse values and the unique qualities that shape each place and their culture.
It was such a privilege to travel with Ann. Her ability to speak both Mandarin and Chinese dialects, her deep understanding and appreciation of Chinese history and culture, and her extensive network enabled us to visit three schools, each renowned for their outstanding academic achievements, yet distinguished by their distinctive educational approaches. We spent several hours at each school in three different regions of China, with the hosts being exceptionally welcoming and gracious. After extensive site tours, we were invited to engage in in-depth discussions about their schools and St Peter’s Girls. Shared educational priorities quickly emerged, along with a clear recognition that there is much we can learn from these high-calibre learning institutions.
We were especially impressed by the success of one school’s academic program. For nine consecutive years, The Guandong Country Garden School, a non-selective school in Guangzhou, has had more than 90% of its students admitted to Top 50 universities worldwide, which include institutions such as Columbia, Princeton and Stanford, and for the past six years, that figure has exceeded 95%. In the 30-year history of Country Garden School, 38 of its graduates have been admitted to Cambridge and 35 to Oxford. The Country Garden School offers the IB as part of its curriculum, and has extensive Outdoor Education and Service Programs, a comprehensive Wellbeing Program and a cutting-edge Technology Program.
While in China, we took the opportunity to meet with current and past parents of International students at our school. These gatherings were warm and lively, filled with engaging conversation. Meeting these families in person was a humbling experience and deepened my understanding and appreciation of why these parents choose to educate their daughters at St Peter’s Girls. The parents were incredibly grateful for the care our staff show towards our students, for the outstanding range and quality of learning opportunities available at Saints Girls, and for the extraordinary experience of living in Australia.
I would like to thank Ann for her exceptional planning and preparation, which led to this trip being such a success. Over the coming year, we look forward to the possibility of turning the vision of school visits into a meaningful and enriching reality.
