Chinese pupils are better than their British counterparts in maths and science, a new study has found.
In a study aimed at comparing the British and the Chinese school systems, pupils taught by Chinese teachers outperformed the rest of their year nine year group in a series of exams set by an independent research body (The Institute of Education - IOE).
In an experiment for BBC Two's ‘Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School’, five teachers from China were responsible for the education of 50 students for four weeks at Bohunt School in Hampshire. Learning together in one class room, the students of mixed abilities were put through a Chinese style education system, with 12 hour days and a stricter learning regime.
In tests at the end of the four week period, overall the students in the Chinese School achieved an approximately 10 per cent higher average mark across maths and science compared to the rest of their year group - who continued to be taught by their regular Bohunt teachers.
In qualifying the results the IOE Said: “The results and findings are not refined and can only be used in very broad terms.” Despite this they reported that “There is a higher performance level within the Chinese group and a degree of separation between the groups which did not appear before the project began.”
Chinese Science teacher, Yang Jung, believes the English students need a stronger worth ethic. “I just feel English students might be a little bit easy to give up. As soon as they found it challenging academically they start to talk to each other and they give up.”
Bohunt Headteacher Neil Strowger said: “I think that the way that the Chinese students respect their teachers is something we ought to have in this country.”
He added: “We probably do need a longer day at school, but do we really want children working 15, 16 hours a day? That to me doesn’t really sound like childhood, that to me sounds like almost prison. The Chinese school works with children who are already bright, who are already motivated... It does challenge the most able pupils but does it do it in a nurturing way?”