News
British Council Mandarin Speaking Competition 2021
Hat-tricks 三连胜
Well done to Kuba @ Castlebrae HS (Beginner), Elisa @Boroughmuir HS (Intermediate) and Lucy@Jame Gillespie HS (Intermediate plus) are through to the finals of the British Council Mandarin Speaking Competition. Well done! 太棒了！
In addition, Isla (S2 - Beginner), Daisy (S3 - Intermediate) & Ben (S5 - Advanced) @George Watson’s College also submitted entries for this year’s competition. None of them made it through to the finals but they enjoyed preparing and participating in this year’s digital competition.
Special mention to Ben who has participated in all 3 categories - would have been good if there were recordings so we could see his progress throughout the years!
We are delighted by the efforts of our learners!
✨✨✨✨✨我们为你们感到非常骄傲！✨✨✨✨✨Wǒmen wèi nǐmen gǎndào fēicháng jiāoào ！✨✨✨✨✨We are very proud of you !
Rethinking Languages through COVID-19 through the Chinese language.
Ellie’s highly recommended entry Ready Steady Cook – Step by step photos of a Chinese meal for the UCL IoE Confucius Institute Young Photographers Competition 2020 t
双喜临门 shuāng xǐlínmén
Double Happiness
恭喜恭喜！ Congratulations Ellie!
Ellie, from Boroughmuir High School, came in second place in the ModernLanguages Outreach and Engagement Rethinking Languages through COVID-19. She also got on the podium for the UCL IOE Confucius Institute Young Photographers’ Competition. Well done, Ellie! She has certainly been cooking with gas during lockdown!
🌟太棒了 ! 🌟
一等奖 Saidah 的作品
Drawing Competition News
绘画比赛
We are delighted to announce that the winning entries of Tynecastle HS drawing competition are:
🥇一等奖 Saidah
🥈二等奖 Meerub, Nida, Ellya, Chris
🥉三等奖 Lucy, Emily, Fredrick
A selection of works will be feature on our gallery
These are judged by THS Art teachers. Judging criteria were strong bold image, clear message and clear layout of idea.
All pupils who entered will get a certificate of participation.
来吧！一起吃团圆饭
Chinese new year dinner
Our Swire pupils have been learning Chinese and learn about how Chinese New Year is celebrated.
As one of the Chinese New Year's main purposes is to start the new year on a good note, there is no better way to do that than to be with family and have a big feast! So, pupils from James Gillespie HS and Tynecastle HS took the opportunity to gather together to tuck into this customary necessity.
P3 Mandarin Club
Red, red 福 fú
Pupils in our P3 Mandarin Club writing the Chinese character '福 fú' which means good fortune. This character should be written and pasted on walls for Chinese New Year. It may also be seen upside down since the pronunciation of “ ‘福倒 fú dào good fortune' is upside down” is the same as “ 福到 fú dào good fortune has arrived” in Mandarin.
This year is particularly special in Scotland, because on 25th January 2020 Chinese New Year will coincide with Scottish cultural celebration of Burns Night. The next time this will happen will be 2096 - making it a truly a once-in-a-generation event!
理查lǐ chá & 百翠珂 bǎi cuì kē
哥哥和弟弟一起去参加比赛。
Watson’s Pupils at British council mandarin speaking competition
Well done to 理查lǐ chá & 百翠珂 bǎi cuì kē ·Kneen. 两兄弟 liǎng xīong dì who represented George Watson’s College in the British Council Mandarin Speaking competition.
We are delighted to announce that 理查lǐ chá has won a place at the finals of the Mandarin Speaking Competition. Many congratulations 恭喜 gōng xǐ to 理查 and his teacher, 胥老师 xū lǎoshī. For 百翠珂 bǎi cuì kē this experience would prove invaluable as he has youth on his side, and we hope to see him again at next year’s competition 比赛 bǐ sài!
The final is due to take place on 5th February 2020 at the Victory Services Club, London 伦敦 lún dūn.
恭喜 gōng xǐ ! 恭喜 gōng xǐ !
✨✨✨✨✨我们为你们感到非常骄傲！✨✨✨✨✨Wǒmen wèi nǐmen gǎndào fēicháng jiāoào ！✨✨✨✨✨We are very proud of you !
听说 Tīng shuō_Freedom of Speech
In this half-day workshop, 51 pupils from Boroughmuir HS, Castlebrae HS, George Watson’s College, Knox Academy, James Gillespie’s HS and Tynecastle HS had the opportunity to get together to enjoy speaking Chinese Mandarin.
This inaugural event at Myerside (George Watson’s College) on 25th November 2019, was opened by Mr Melvyn Roffe 校长 xiào zhǎng Principal of George Watson’s College.
There was a range of stimulating practical activities with a key focus on building confidence and spontaneity when communicating in Chinese. The primary purpose was to engage and to support our Edinburgh Swire pupils in their preparation for SQA National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher Chinese talking assessments. Pupils and teachers worked together to raise the bar of listening 听 tīng and speaking 说 shuō in Chinese 中文 zhōngwén.
They came, they spoke, they conquered
TES shortlist
We are delighted to announce that George Watson’s College has been shortlisted for the Independent-state school partnership award in the 2020 TES Independent School Awards for its role in the Swire Chinese Language Centre Edinburgh.
Congratulations to all involved! Winners will be announced at an Awards Dinner in February 2020
Young Photographers Competition for 2019
The competition has been running for five years and has seen some excellent photography from young people across the world. The aim of the competition is to dispel the cultural stereotypes of China through photography and show the vast country through the eyes of young people. The Young Photographers Competition is generously supported by the Chinese Embassy in London.
All entries must be received no later than Friday 8th November 2019.
British Council Mandarin Speaking Competition 2019/20
Applications for the 19/20 British Council Mandarin Speaking Competition are now invited. The Competition is a fun opportunity for secondary school students to practice and improve their Mandarin, with winners of each category winning a trip to China next year.
Heats will take place in Belfast, Glasgow and London in November and December, and the Final will take place in London in February 2020.
The deadline for applications is Monday 14 October.
如果你有兴趣参加，请联系你的中文老师。
All information, eligibility criteria, terms and conditions and the online application can be found here.