The definition of adulthood varies from country to country. In China, for example, young people are considered adults at the age of 18. By the time most of our seniors turn 18, they have already graduated from high school and are preparing for university. Hence, the Coming-of-Age Ceremony has become a beloved tradition at BRS, celebrating both adulthood and the college life that lies ahead.

On April 26th, BRS held the Coming-of-Age Ceremony for the Class of 2023 on campus. The essence of the ceremony has never changed: it marks the beginning of a new chapter as an adult and the awareness of one's responsibilities as a decent human being.

Everyone enjoyed the Han etiquette of Guan and Ji Li, a tradition honored in China for more than 2,000 years. The character "guan" (Chinese: 冠; pinyin: guān) is sometimes translated as crown or cap. The character "Ji" (Chinese: 笄; pinyin: jī) refers to a kind of bamboo-made hairpin. For young men and women, the ceremony was called Guan and Ji Li respectively, also known as the "capping" or hair-pinning ceremony. As a coming-of-age ceremony, the Guan and Ji Ceremony marks the passage of BRS graduates into adulthood.

The Guan and Ji Ceremony was a spectacular way for our community to experience traditional Chinese culture and served as a splendid opening as we begin our month-long graduation festivities!

Our emphasis on traditional Chinese culture and its contribution to world civilization is in line with our focus on intercultural understanding, one of the school's priorities for 2023. We are committed to student-centered education, quality teaching, and the holistic development of our students. Emphasizing traditional Chinese culture enables our students to gain a deep understanding of their own identity and helps them appreciate the significance of Chinese culture as they prepare to move on to universities and the world after school.

Chapter XVIII is an anthology that originated from a student project in BRS's English Language and Literature (ELL) course. BRS takes pride in its robust ELL program, which empowers students to learn through the authentic writing process, explore their imagination and self-expression, and foster confidence in their writing abilities. The anthology comprises a diverse collection of genres and writing styles, ranging from science fiction, fantasy, romance, folklore, and realistic portrayals based on personal experiences. The pieces showcase voices that are sentimental, wise, humorous, and satirical, reflecting a depth of maturity beyond the students' years.

Illustrations created by our student authors

This compilation represents the dedication and progress made by our students during the project. We hope that as you read the short stories in this anthology, you will appreciate the talent and creativity that our students have cultivated in their ELL studies and storytelling. Moreover, we trust that Chapter XVIII will inspire and entertain you.

We extend our gratitude to our teachers, whose guidance and direction have been a significant source of inspiration to our students.

Ms. Xin Lirong, a member of the HS Mathematics and Computer Science team at BRS, was recently invited to participate as an expert in the first exchange of research results on AI teaching practices in primary and secondary schools. She was one of three experts, representing senior high, junior high, and primary schools respectively, selected from all the schools in the experimental area across the country. Ms. Xin had the opportunity to observe and provide professional comments on three high school classroom demonstrations conducted by the Affiliated Middle School of Sichuan Normal University.

Ms. Xin has been teaching at BRS for 15 years and has dedicated herself to teaching and researching computer education. Her teaching example, "What is Machine Learning," was selected as an outstanding teaching example from 17 experimental zones and 193 schools across China in 2022. She was also invited to present it at the first phase of the Artificial Intelligence Project's online sharing session for the whole country.

The BRS Education Experimental Base, with years of practice and research in AI education, was successfully selected for the first phase of the AI project pilot and launched the second phase of the project in March 2023. The BRS Education Experimental Base AI Project involves 12 teachers from BRS's campuses in Beijing, Chengdu, and Yuncheng. The BRS Education Experimental Base was also awarded as an excellent experimental area in the first phase of work, thanks to its excellent performance and remarkable results.

We at BRS are proud of Ms. Xin's achievement, which is a result of her continued efforts and dedication to education. Our school has highly qualified, dedicated, and committed teachers who are passionate about teaching and influencing their colleagues and students.

This month, Beijing Royal School (BRS) welcomed senior education experts, principals, and teachers from the Beijing Institute of Education, Guangdong Millions of Talent Project, and Cogdel Cranleigh School Changsha on a study tour of our campus. 

Touring our learning environment

During the visit, they were given a tour of the campus and were impressed by BRS's dynamic learning environment, state-of-the-art facilities, and our many local and international collaborations. 

Seeing our students in action

They also attended demonstration classes to see first-hand how BRS successfully delivers international education.

Learning more about BRS Education

Ms. Zheng Zhen, Deputy General Manager of Fazheng International Education, delivers a speech at BRS's Academic Assembly Hall 

Furthermore, BRS leadership shared the school's achievements over the past 27 years, since its inception in 1996. They explained how BRS has evolved from a visionary experiment in public-private cooperation to a globally recognized model of international education. Teacher representatives from the BRS Education Experimental Base shared the work in developing school-based curricula over the past eight years.

BRS has made remarkable achievements in continuing the process of innovation in education, receiving recognition from national education authorities, with its "Study Abroad Safety Course" being awarded the "Outstanding Research Project" at the end-of-project meeting held by the National Centre for School Curriculum and Textbook Development of the Ministry of Education for the fifth batch of school-based curricula of the Experimental Base in March 2023.

Many visitors concluded that they were impressed with BRS's high standards in running the school and its positive influence on the education industry.

Next month, BRS will host a delegation of over 300 principals from schools across the country. The school looks forward to continuing to engage with more education colleagues to advance international education in China through dialogue and partnership.

We hope you enjoyed this episode and look forward to sharing more in the future.

BRS Publicity Office

Writing | Jing Zhai

Cover Image | Xiaoxu Wu

Picture | Xiaolong Mao, Anbin Mao

Proofreading | Martha Chen