Commit to Change
The world's local bank- Hong Kong – Diversity grant
- Global – iNet
- Korea – Seoul English Village
- UK – Supporting Chinese language instruction
- UK – WWTlearn
- Global – The English-Speaking Union
- United Arab Emirates – Sharjah Women's College
- Global – HSBC Chevening scholars
- UK and China – Work experience programme
- UK, China, India, South Africa and Egypt – Rivers of the world
- United Arab Emirates – English Language Programme
- Bahrain – Star School
- Hong Kong – Scholarship schemes
- UK – The Science of Survival
UK – Supporting Chinese language instruction
Teachers from China bring cultural understanding to UK schools
To encourage greater understanding of China and interest in learning Mandarin, HSBC supports a British Council programme that brings qualified teachers from China to help teach Mandarin and Chinese culture in UK primary and secondary schools. The teachers are known as language assistants while in the UK. The British Council organises teaching seminars on educational cooperation with China and helps the language assistants and other teachers of Mandarin with lesson planning and curriculum materials.
In the seven years that HSBC has supported this programme, the number of language assistants coming to the UK has grown from six to 62 per year, teaching Chinese in 60 schools. This will increase to over 80 in 2007/08. With the aid of the Chinese language assistants, many UK schools have formed a relationship with a 'link' school in China; many schools now seek teachers from their link school, through the British Council, to ensure continuity and strengthen the ties between the two schools.
Language assistants have a two-day briefing on arrival before attending a reception at the Embassy of the People's Republic of China.
Mandarin Speaking Competition
The Mandarin Speaking Competition, started in 2003, is organised by the British Council and funded by the Department for Education and Skills and HSBC. It promotes the study of Chinese language and culture and is open to students in school years 7-13 (aged 11-18). The competition normally takes place in November and students take part as individuals or as part of their school group.
Individual contestants are split into three sections according to year group and each one gives a two minute speech in Chinese on a prepared topic and is asked questions about China, as well as translating sentences. For the second part, groups of six contestants of mixed year groups from the same school perform music, poetry or drama in Chinese for up to five minutes.
The three individual winning students, together with the winning group and the group's teacher, are rewarded with a week's all-expenses-paid trip to China in December, funded by HSBC. During the trip to China, HSBC staff in Beijing host a lunch for the students.
In 2006, more than 170 pupils from 36 schools competed and HSBC provided a judge for each part of the competition. Two of the judges were staying in the UK as part of an internship programme exchange with China. Read more about this work experience programme.
