Impressions of the High School Affiliated to Xi'an Jiaotong University - Highlights of the “Trip to the Prestigious Schools” Live Show

On 20^th March, a delegation of journalists from Chinese Commercial News was introduced to students of the International Program Center of the High School Affiliated to Xi’an Jiaotong University. In addition, the school activities were broadcast live on Yi, an online platform. During the live show, the audience (including parents) watching on the Yi were able to feel as though they were taking part in the experience by seeing video of the students, courses and campus life. To date, the click rate of this live video has increased to 242,000 which is a new record.

Now, let us reflect on the aspects of the show which left the biggest impression on parents and ‘netizens’.

Students Impression: Decent gentlemen and elegant ladies

The High School Affiliated to Xi’an Jiaotong University enjoys a high reputation because of its high quality of education in Sanqin, located in Shaanxi province. The distinctive idea which is suggested by the school is that boys should be gentlemen and girls should be ladies. This school life activity provides an opportunity for parents to witness the elegant appearance of students. As the anchors, Meng Hanzi and Shi Chongkai, students from the American Elite High School Program, presented parents with information about the International Program Center, such as the curriculum, school activities, faculty strengths, and the rate of university admissions. Their fluent oral English and politeness were highly praised by parents and netizens.

The introductions of the other rounds were given by students. Their appearance, courtesy and good grace was appreciated by parents.

Cai Zhuolin from the Year 12 American High School Program class explained the general concept of the American High School Program curricula to parents

Curricula Impression: Scientific, standardised, rich, and varied

There are several courses which are completely established within the high school including the Chinese and foreign high school courses, language courses, and foundation and Advanced Placement courses. These can lay a solid foundation for students who wish to study abroad. Moreover, the trinity growth pattern, namely small-class teaching, an academic schooling system and tutorial counseling system, is more suitable for professional development of students in the International Program. During the live show, classes taught by foreign teachers were filmed, including computing studies, mathematics and economics.

Apart from the academic curriculum, there are various optional courses. In their spare time, students are able to enjoy campus life by attending various optional courses such as baseball, martial arts, drama, British culture, an overview of America, news reading, cooking, elocution, baking, acculturation, micro-film and vocabulary.

The baseball team of the High School Affiliated to Xi’an Jiaotong University

Drama class taught by a foreign teacher

The delicious food prepared for the visiting parents by the students in the Cooking class

Impression of Activity: broad platform, your domination

The International Program Center of the High School Affiliated to Xi’an Jiaotong University has established more than 60 student communities. Students can establish their own community according to their hobbies. Wang Peiyi, a 2013 graduate, along with her classmates, established “the Solid Model Community” because she wanted to study architecture. Students who graduated in 2015, such as Liu Likai, established the “Cycling Community” because they were interested in riding bikes. Recently, Meng Hanzi and other students in the International Program class have established the “Student Financial Trade Corporation”. This has enabled them to achieve excellent results from the Shaanxi Middle School Student Business Simulation Challenge and help them to improve their academic performance.

The International Program Center also provides students with more than 30 domestic and international social activities during the vacation, which not only provide additional credit on university applications, but also develops individual abilities.

International Program Center students participate in the Shaanxi Middle School Student Business Simulation Challenge 

American High School Program students attend the Model United Nations General Assembly China branch of the University of California, Berkeley (UCB)

In addition to the student’s activities, parents also enthusiastically participated in campus activities, including taking part in a forum for the parents of the International Program students. During the live show, the class were taught “paper-cutting for Spring” by Teacher Wang Zhi from the intangible cultural heritage office and Teacher Zuo Qicheng, a folk paper-cutting artist.

Paper-cutting for Spring - parents forum

The regular management of the International Program is integrated into the school, relying on the strict management system of the High School Affiliated to Xi’an Jiaotong University. The “Nineteen Virtues” requires students to develop good habits; it also fully respects students’ individuality and adheres to the school concept of “educate students according to their own abilities.” In addition, the school also has personalized tutoring for students.

The reception of parents by International Program students 

Xu Leyu, a Year 10 student in the American High School Program, believes the international department has changed his understanding of class as they are lively, interesting and encourage participation by all students. Kristy, a foreign teacher in the program, organized a role play for her economics students. They had to pretend they were using a credit card without showing any restraint. This novel activity was used to highlight a lesson on money and markets in a much more active way than the students are used to.

Several “bank employees” discussing the limits amount of the “cardholder” in the economics class

Impression of achievements: fruitful achievements and students all over the world

38 graduates from the American Elite High School Program have received 173 university offers and have been awarded more than $797,000 in scholarships over a two year period. All students have already been admitted to the top 85 universities in the United States, including the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison), University of Ilinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Purdue University, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMN), University of California, Irvine (UCI), University of California, Davis (UCD), and The Pennsylvania State University (PSU).

156 students from the UFS Program all achieved excellent results in the UNSW Foundation Studies global exam during the past five years. Five students have received the top score in both the Physical Science and Commerce streams. All these students have been admitted to world-class universities in Australia, Britain and Canada, among which more than 90% of graduates have been admitted to the Group of Eight (Go8)including the University of New South Wales (UNSW), the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney, which are ranked among the world’s top 50 universities.

Student Liu Zheyu from UFS is introducing the graduation wall display to parents

The purpose of the Chinese Commercial News activity is “Trip to the Prestigious Schools - Education varies with each individual ”. This coincides with the school concept “educate students according to their own abilities.” Although the activity has already been completed, the international program class of the High School Affiliated to Xi’an Jiaotong University left a deep impression on many parents and attendees.