Trips Week

An ancient Chinese philosopher, said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” A journey, no matter how long, must begin with the first step under your feet. Every great goal and lofty ideal are achieved through little by little accumulation and practical efforts.

Harrow Beijing’s annual trips are an important part of the practice of holistic education. It is very important when you let the children go out of the school and apply what they learn in school to practice. During the trip, the students of Harrow Beijing stepped into the river of history and culture, engaged in meaningful community service activities, challenged the limits to experience water sports, sailing and kayaking, and carried out heritage restoration. They have traveled to Shimen Mountain, Jinshanling Great Wall, Beijing Maritime Center, Xi ‘an, Datong, and Inner Mongolia. Through different types of activities, they have gained rich experiences and growth, and practiced the four values of Harrow Beijing: Courage, Honor, Humility and Fellowship.

Courage

To be sanguine and resolute in meeting challenges

Embracing new and challenging experiences always comes with its fair share of difficulties. Year 8 and Year 12 students were tasked with the challenge of navigating through these difficulties as they embarked on a sailing adventure, with the main experience being sailing, windsurfing, and kayaking. Harrow Beijing students learned the basics of sailing and windsurfing under the guidance of professional coaches, experiencing the thrill of sailing through the waves of the sea. This was not only a practical experience in water sports, but also an opportunity for students to challenge themselves and develop a resilient character. In the sailing lessons, they learned how to stay calm in wind and waves, how to get back up after falling, how to work together with teammates, and successfully complete various sailing tasks.

The Year 9’ students journey to the Inner Mongolia grassland was a combination of wisdom and strength. Here, they saw the desert with no vegetation, effectively linking the geography they had learned. The unique wrestling sport on the grassland was a test of strength between children, watching them eagerly trying out the sport, getting up after falling, and never giving up, exemplifying the courage value in the Harrow values.

Honor 

Preserving History, Leading the Future

Xi’an, the capital of China’s 13 dynasties, is a treasure of Chinese culture. As the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, Xi’an has preserved a wealth of historical heritage. Here, students not only visit the ancient relics – Terracotta Warriors, and feel the splendor of the Qin Dynasty through its magnificent scene, but also seem to have traveled from history books to the present, making historical knowledge tangible.

Students also make terracotta warriors by hand, feeling the traces of history from 5,000 years ago, making the saying “learn from history to understand the rise and fall of dynasties” a terracotta warrior sculpture in their hands. The work of making terracotta warriors not only requires high concentration and patience, but also tests the students’ creativity. Because the teachers did not let the children follow a uniform prototype of the terracotta warriors in history, but allowed them to be creative. This allows history and modern times to be perfectly combined. Students also deeply understand the importance of cultural inheritance through this activity of making terracotta warriors.

Cultural inheritance also comes from year 7, who learn the entire process of building the Great Wall, and practice from brickmaking to transportation, to placing bricks in designated positions. Seeing the children wear work boots and gloves, and pick up tools, they look like construction workers. They carefully pour, shape, and mold the bricks. Although there are occasional failures, they still persistently complete the task. After completing the construction, the students will also marvel at how the ancient Chinese built such a delicate and solid Great Wall with such scarce tools and materials. Through practice and reflection, it is an indispensable skill for every student in their academic career, and it is also the ability that overseas universities expect students to have. At Harrow Beijing, we hope that every student, whether on campus or off campus, will be courageous enough to ask questions and solve problems through their own efforts and experiments.

Humility

Serving the World, Growing in Practice

Community service is a core educational principle at Harrow Beijing, and we are proud to have been guided by Chinese traditional values and moral principles, as well as the Harrow values, in conducting community service. Our community service is not limited to daily school activities, but is also integrated into the itinerary of our trips.

On this trip, the Year 11 visited the Xi’an Children’s Village, where they met the children and listened to their stories. Meanwhile, the students painted the newly built houses at the village, and even drew different patterns on the houses to express their care and concern for the children there. Through this experience, the students realized that there are many children in different parts of the world who long for fair treatment and expect care and attention from others. The students learned to care for other sand give back to society through communication and exchange.

In Datong, the fields became the classroom .Helping local farmers harvest their crops became the most special project for the 10th graders on their Datong trip. The students learned from the agricultural technician about the methods of planting corn and harvesting, and deeply understood the hard work and the preciousness of food. As soon as the agricultural technician finished speaking, the children ran towards the endless cornfield. They pulled the ripe corn cobs, one by one, and put them on the harvest cart. Looking at the full cart of corn, the children were satisfied. And the interaction with local farmers made the students appreciate the farmers’ love for the land and their hard work, and cultivated their respect for nature and food.
Fellowship

Teamwork and Leadership Development

At Harrow Beijing, we strive to develop students’ leadership skills through various types of leadership activities, such as leadership and community service projects, outdoor adventures, and field trips. These activities prepare our students to become future leaders in the world.

From the Year 7 hike to Jinshanling Great Wall, to Year 6 bonfire building, to Year 5 homemade kayak experience, our students are constantly being subtly nurtured to develop their teamwork and leadership skills. In the ancient brick and stone of the Great Wall, Year 7 climbed, listening to the echoes of history, and at the same time, they solved the difficulties of the journey through teamwork. Year 6 students actively brainstormed and successfully built a bonfire using bricks and wood. Year 5students even took the IPC course to the extreme by embodying how ancient people worked together to cross a river. Although there were occasional differences of opinion in teamwork, the children were always able to learn from their failures and listen carefully to others’ opinions. Such experiences not only enhance their leadership skills and sense of responsibility, but also deepen trust and friendship among them.

During this trip, the students of Harrow Beijing not only witnessed the history and culture of China, but also truly participated and integrated into local life through community service activities. They learned how to exercise themselves in challenges, enhance team spirit through cooperation, and appreciate the value of responsibility and love through dedication. We believe that these experiences will be valuable treasures in their lives and will deeply influence their future studies and lives.