THREE years ago, teachers and pupils from Grantown Grammar went on a trip which had a profound influence on them and the school.
Eight pupils and two teachers travelled to Beijing to take part in a three-week language and culture course run by the British Council which for many of them began a fascination with all things Chinese.
Today, visitors are often surprised to see e
xamples of Chinese calligraphy on the walls – and to learn this small school is one of the first in the UK to offer a chance to learn basic Mandarin.
On their return from China, teachers set up a lunchtime Chinese language and culture club, at which pupils can learn basic Mandarin. The Chinese connection developed further when Grantown was twinned Xinging Middle School in South West Kunming. Pupils have exchanged Christmas and New Year cards and photos. Language teacher Thea Pallutt visited the sister school last year and hopes to take pupils there in future.
Ms Pallutt says the Beijjing trip was a real eye-opener for pupils: "It was fantastic, mind-blowing. One of the pupils who went had never been on a long distance flight before, but they all refused to eat any western food while they were there and tried all sort of things like seaweed and donkey."
The pupils and teachers did a basic Mandarin course in the mornings, then filled their afternoons with a range of cultural experiences, learning the rudiments of Chinese brush painting, opera singing, Tibetan dancing, Kung Fu and sword fighting. They also had the chance to visit historic sites, including the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and some ancient Buddhist temples. "My colleague Gillian McCulloch and I were really inspired," says Ms Pallutt. "We also really enjoyed learning Mandarin, although we found it difficult. The pupils really liked the mystery and difficulty of the language. In fact one of the pupils who went on that trip decided she was not going to study modern languages but chose to go to Edinburgh University to study Mandarin and another has gone to China on a gap year."
Ms Pallutt says her own Mandarin is still at a fairly rudimentary level, but she would love to see the subject available to more pupils. Last year, she was invited to the Scottish Parliament to share her experiences with MSPs and has kept a close eye on the development of a Mandarin course being developed by the Scottish Qualifications Authority. "We'd love to have a Chinese language assistant – but with all these things it's a question of finance," she says.
In February, the school borrowed Jiangye Zhao, a language assistant who works at Balerno High in Edinburgh. Ms Pallutt says: "He went with teachers to a local quiz night, played golf, visited Loch Ness, went curling and ate haggis, neeps and tatties at the school. As well as Mandarin classes, he taught a home economics class to make a traditional stir fry, gave lessons in calligraphy and even tutored the PE classes in ping-pong. I'd love Chinese to be a part of the curriculum – these things always start in a small way and build."
