Entering 2020, many of the world's top universities have closed their admission channels for Chinese students, and the proportion of Chinese students enrolled in the world's top universities has decreased. From public school to private school, from Wuhan to Oxford, this student shows us the possibility of “climbing to the top” under the local education environment.
At the age of 17, she got an offer from Oxford University (a total of 7 for Hubei Province). She had a perfect start in her life and was envied by many. She was also called a “genius girl”, but she said, waving her hand, “I'm diligent and hardworking but not smart.”
In Sabrina's opinion, the Oxford offer winner, the champion of the Rise Cup National Final, the author of the winning composition of the Chucai Cup, the youngest swimmer to cross the Yangtze River, and the vice president of the School Ultimate Frisbee Club...
How did she manage to enter the world's super elite university step by step in a highly criticized domestic educational environment?
Thanks to the introduction of Anna, a teacher from Wuhan Rise English, I had the pleasure of talking face to face with this spirited girl for nearly three hours on a sunny afternoon.
1The Oxford Girl from Wuhan
On a December afternoon in the UK, it was getting dark at 3:30. Had it been a trip, Sabrina would not have chosen this season. But this time, she came for her dream (the interview).
Sabrina applied for an engineering offer at Oxford's Teddy Hall, one of the city's oldest academic institutions, which did not become an Oxford college until 1957. The college is characterized by a combination of history and forward thinking, as well as its variety of sports activities. The latter is a plus that Sabrina values very much.
2The Darkest Hour for the Straight A Student
The road to excellence is not always easy. Sabrina still remembers the time in her junior high school.
With the “Halo of a Straight A Student”, Sabrina, as a student of the Chongren Road Primary School, became the only student who was admitted to the junior high school of Wuhan Foreign Language School. To everyone's surprise, she ranked second from the bottom of the class in the first test after entering the school. Even though she tried her best, Sabrina failed in the high school entrance examination. She was depressed after failing to enter her ideal high school. Finally, she studied in Wuhan Britain-China Senior High School, but she failed to enter the Britain-China IB Class due to her low score in the senior high school entrance examination. It does’t matter. At the A-level Class, Sabrina found her confidence again.
With the “disciplinary thinking” established during the six years of study in Rise English, Sabrina quickly adapted to the international curriculum of the high school, which is recognized by the Commonwealth countries.
What's more, she rose to the top soon after she was enrolled. Due to the slow progress of the course, she and her classmates formed a mutual aid WeChat group and gave their classmates extra lessons every night. At first, Mom didn’t understand, complaining, “Isn’t it a waste of time?” Sabrina explained, “When I teach my classmates, it is also a review and carding of knowledge. Besides, everyone learns well and quickly, so our class can make faster progress.”
Good command of English, excellent communication skills and expression skills helped Sabrina regain her confidence and stand at another “high point”.
3How important is disciplinary thinking?
Looking back on Sabrina's growth, her mother said that it was wise to choose a combination of Chinese and American education for her daughter at the beginning.
As we all know, if students learn English step by step in the public primary school, It is impossible to be admitted by Wuhan Foreign Language School. Sabrina benefited from the immersion learning in Rise English for her English learning at the elementary level.
From S1 to Rise up, what Sabrina has reaped is not only the interest in learning English but also the accumulation of academic thinking, precise English expression, and stage performance, teamwork, leadership, and good psychological quality cultivated in a series of activities and competitions, as well as the ability to work under pressure in the face of failure and frustration...
The annual Rise Cup Competition is a great opportunity for personal growth, and Sabrina used to take part in it almost every year.
From the theme formulation to the field interview, from the poster production to the video recording and PPT writing, from the stage design presentation to the confident, smooth, and calm speech, from the preliminary competition to the second round and then to the national finals, every detail is a rare “experience”.
Where does self-possession and the ability to resist frustration and stress come from? It comes from the accumulation of repeated competitions.
“It takes almost half a year's salary to pay for Sabrina’s tuition. At that time, many relatives and friends will question why you are sending your child to such an expensive place to learn English since you are also an English teacher. Are you crazy?”
Sabrina’s mum recalled,
“Just because I am a high school English teacher, I know what is the correct way to learn English. Many children have learned English for more than ten years, but still unable to say or speak. Learning English is not to deal with the domestic examinations!”
“To Complete the American Primary School Subject System Education in English”, “To Use English as a Tool of Communication and Expression”, “To Learn English by Disciplinary Thinking”, These are not empty slogans. They are embodied in every class.
In science class, the teacher tells the children how to sort garbage; in math class, sorting, logic, classification, scientific observation, problem-solving projects...It’s more about mathematical thinking than how to calculate correctly.
At Rise English , teachers never tell children the correct answers, because trial and error is also very important in learning.
Later, when Sabrina studied in an international high school, she found that the expression ability, project ability and thinking pattern, which she had cultivated at Rise English, had all been “put to use”.
Sabrina’s mother concluded, “If you want to study in a foreign university, Rise English is a good choice for you to do the training of thinking.”
Here is a 17-year-old girl, sweet and smart, with a tough but funny soul. For Sabrina, entering Oxford may start a wonderful life. She is young and promising.
Luck is the added value of hard work, and skill is sometimes more important than hard work and persistence. A real straight A student is made by 100% hard work which entails 30% of luck and 70% of skill.
