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On the Airbus A380 heading to Chengdu. #MEP #SJCMEP #2weeksinchina

We are in the classroom this morning learning about transportation before we head out to the subway in Chengdu after lunch. #SJCMEP

A wonderful example of calligraphy from one of our current Y10 students. 'Biang' - the most complex of Chinese characters

Still wondering whether UK schoolkids can learn Chinese well? The MOST exciting initiative atm, the MEP, is taking 1200 y9 pupils from England on a trip to China over the next fortnight. This may be the biggest ever delegation to China from a single country. #MandarinExcellence

Passports collected, visas approved. We are now only 2 sleeps away from heading to China!!! St. Joseph's College #MandarinExcellence

VIP treatment at London Heathrow Heathrow Airport as we check-in. Next stop Beijing! Mandarin Excellence Programme St. Joseph's College

Boarding the plane… time for a team photo

We have landed safely in Beijing! An exciting first evening ahead of us, updates to follow!

The boys are enjoying the cuisine! There was more delicious food at breakfast and lunch as well.

We had a busy Saturday in Beijing, including our first lessons with Teacher Wu!

What a day! A morning full of lessons, an afternoon building friendships with students from a local secondary school. This evening we ventured into town and got our first glimpse of Tiananmen Square before going shopping in Qianmen. St. Joseph's College Mandarin Excellence Programme

Another amazing day! Our lessons werr followed up a meeting with a selection of British professionals living and working in the UK. Then straight to a tai chi lesson before heading to Houhai for dinner and souvenir shopping. St. Joseph's College Mandarin Excellence Programme

A beautiful day as our students enjoyed The Summer Palace (颐和园). As well as taking in the sights and history, they also enjoyed minor celebrity status, building relations and making friends with hundreds of people who wanted to talk to our students. St. Joseph's College Mandarin Excellence Programme

The Great Wall! Today we spent the day climbing and exploring the Great Wall. It was an epic day and the boys demonstrated great resilience to climb up and down literally thousands of steps. St. Joseph's College Mandarin Excellence Programme

Today our boys were lucky enough to visit our Chinese friends at their school. They enjoyed calligraphy and wushu martial arts lessons as well as tackling Chinese tongue twisters! The evening was spent exploring the hutongs of Old Beijing. St. Joseph's College Mandarin Excellence Programme

After a busy few days, today was a bit calmer. After lessons we explored the Temple of Heaven (天坛). Immense beauty and a reminder of how busy China is. The evening saw our rehearsal for the Closing Ceremony. Our trip is nearly over! Time has flown! St. Joseph's College Mandarin Excellence Programme

Today was our last full day in Beijing. We said goodbye to the wonderful Wu Laoshi and Qiu Laoshi. The evening saw the Closing Ceremony, where Enoch spoke fluently in Mandarin, before all the boys sang in Mandarin and enjoyed a range of performances. St. Joseph's College Mandarin Excellence Programme

A reminder that we arrive back in London tomorrow. I will post again at the airport, but please be ready to pick up your children as planned from Terminal 2. Our ETA still stands at 20:00. See you tomorrow!!!

And just like that the trip comes to an end. What an amazing trip, and memories made for life. 我们爱北京！St. Joseph's College Mandarin Excellence Programme

This morning, a select group of our students were recognised for their achievement and/or progress during this academic year. The students were invited for an achievement morning where they received certificates and were congratulated by Mrs Kane and Mr Mantillas!