For students, by students

World Citizens Programme to the UK

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By Ryan Ko S2TC 16

Last summer, I joined the World Citizens Programme and went to the UK. In fact, I had been to the UK once before; but I still felt quite nervous before going on this trip. One of the reasons was that I was not sure if I could speak fluent English when talking with the people in the UK, mainly because I seldom talk to western people in my daily life. I really hoped that the trip could help me improve my speaking skills. Nevertheless, I was really looking forward to the trip as there would be beautiful scenery and some fun activities!

After taking the long 12-hour flight, we finally arrived in the UK at 5 in the morning! It was a fresh start to the whole trip. On the first day, we had some ice-breaking activities with the teachers in the UK and students from other schools. There was also a manner class for us to learn the correct manners in different situations while eating different meals. We had many lessons starting from the second day. We mostly learned stories from Shakespeare like Romeo and Juliet, and Animal Farm by George Orwell. Activities that we all liked were the excursions. We went to various famous places in the UK, such as the Shakespeare Theatre, St. Paul’s Cathedral, British Museum, Apple Market, Buckingham Palace, Brighton, Cambridge, and Chelsea Football Club Stadium. On the second last day of the trip, we had a performance of what we have learnt. We performed a drama of Romeo and Juliet, some famous songs and poems for our parents. For me, I felt a bit stressed with the rehearsals and practices as we had just got 14 days for the preparation. Fortunately, all of us performed marvellously.

The most memorable part of this trip was the visit to Chelsea FC Stadium. It was also the last day of our trip. When we arrived at the stadium, the magnificent entrance in blue color caught my eye. There were photos of various well-known football players, as well as the shirts that they had worn for past football matches. We also walked through the tunnel to the football pitch – it was a superb experience for me. I am a fan of playing football, and I had never been to a famous football stadium like this before. This experience was eye-opening and very memorable.

Through this trip, I have learnt more about the culture in the UK. British people always pay attention to manners. For example, it is very impolite to spit the food out when eating; and they always apologise if they think they have caused a disturbance to others. Also, the learning atmosphere in the UK is very different from Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, students only learn from textbooks; but in the UK, teachers always bring students out for excursions and they can learn in an interesting and unique way. Also, they think that sports are important so there are a lot of sports lessons in their school. Overall, the trip was very fruitful and it brought me lots of joy. I think I have definitely improved a lot and am now more confident in speaking English!