Susan M B Chen, a high school student at Downe House School in Britain, shares with readers her life at the all-girl public school and offers useful information and advice for her peers who intend to study in Britain

    Dear fellow students:

    As for music, there are numerous instruments one can pick up. By starting the clarinet in my first year at Downe House, I have been able to advance my grade every year by taking exams from the Board of the Royal Academy of Music, which is highly recognized by universities and employers from all over the world.

    In my opinion, there are too many Chinese students learning piano or violin. Be creative, choose a niche instrument, such as French horn, flute, clarinet, harp or cello.

    The reason I chose to play clarinet was because the instrument is not extremely large and I can easily put it into my luggage when I travel. My clarinet is my companion wherever I go.

    With reference to visual arts, the most popular forms include fine art, photography and sculpture. I have enjoyed fine art a lot in my years at Downe House. There is a well facilitated arts center with extremely dedicated and passionate teachers, whom I can even reach during out of school hours.

    Because my school is only 45 minutes away from London, I am able to easily access the many exhibits in galleries in London, including Tate Britain, the National Portrait Gallery, and the V&A Museum and so on.

    The creative industries are a huge deal in the United Kingdom. The government supports the industries by allocating large amounts of resources into them annually. This has been the case ever since the late 1970s, and thus arts events are widely available throughout the whole country, even in small villages.

    Here in the United Kingdom, community service is regarded as an important part of education. It is used to make students into more rounded members of society. I really appreciate this part of the school curriculum.

    Here, it does not require a political or religious campaign to promote the importance of serving other people. Instead, schools try to instil in you sympathy for the weak and care to those in need, through community service and education programs.

    At school we are constantly organizing fundraising activities among our school and local community for donation to charity. We can organize fashion shows to showcase our own designs to solicit donations; we are able to design our own practical products and have the products made and sold to generate profit. In addition, we can also devote our time to visiting elderly homes or disabled children’s homes.

    My friendly advice to boarding students is not to lock yourself away in your own room, and try not to spend all day on the Internet. Free yourself once in a while from just reading or doing your homework. Try not to stick just with your own Chinese social circle playing card games. Do participate actively in the many extracurricular activities the school offers you.

    Through these activities you can develop many life-skills including teamwork, leadership and communication skills. Remember, a happy student is an active student.

    Yours fondly,

    Susan M B Chen

    Year 13 student at Downe House School