Justin Stevens finds Shanghai schools putting ICT to good use and British education technology knocking on the door of a potentially vast market Dillon Lynn

A city of high-rise concrete, steel and glass blocks, peppered with cranes and construction netting, Shanghai is an intriguing mixture of fusty communist principles staring straight into the crotch of capitalism. Some might call it a wannabe Hong Kong, but there is a wider-ranging story here as China (a country 10 times the size of Japan) has entered the world market with a bang, and skylines like Shanghai’s are rapidly emerging in China’s major centres.

Fu Dan Middle School defied many expectations. Being one of the top schools in Shanghai, it certainly has a respected educational reputation, but surely it will still be years behind the schools of the UK won’t it? Well the answer is yes and no. Some of the technology may be a few years behind that of the UK, but it is there in quantity and updates are being made all the time.

Judging by the multimedia equipment available - Japanese video cameras and hi-fi equipment - many UK students could feel a trace of envy with the resources available. English teacher “Whisky” (real name Cai Wenjai) took great delight in showing off the school’s equipment and admitted that in the last five to 10 years, new technology had rejuvenated his teaching at Fu Dan. He also terrified this writer when he sat me at a table near the assembly halls and then said that my image was being beamed all round the school. The same technique is used when lecturers visit the school - their talks in the lecture hall are often broadcast to other parts of the building, so everybody gets a chance to see and hear them.

Fu Dan Middle School is equivalent to a UK secondary school, educating pupils of 13-18 years. There are 1,500 children in the school with a staff of 160, including 110 teachers. An average class is 50 pupils with school hours being 7.30am to 4pm. Founded in 1905 by Ma Xiangpo, the school has always had close links with the nearby Fu Dan University which provides many of its teachers. In addition to a proud academic record, it has also won trophies and honours for its table tennis and orchestra work.

The school motto, one of the sayings of Confucius translating as “Study hard, ask for more and think more”, supports the school’s principles. Like other schools in China there is a system of continuous assessment and not such an exam-based structure as in other countries. The system allows the “elite”, as it is translated, the chance to go to university without sitting examinations, while others have to. There have been criticisms of this system as those with wealthier families find themselves at university. School vice-president Lou Ciniang states that there are changes afoot in 2004, when entrance examinations will be scrapped and a grading system (from A to D) will be adopted. An A grade would mean automatic qualification for university.

Continuous assessment covers academic performance, behaviour, ability to adapt, hard work and what is referred to as “spirit” (later explained to me as meaning pledging allegiance to the Communist Party).

Ciniang emphasises that many teachers want to teach here because of its reputation. Yet, as in Britain, schools in China are having to cope with a teacher shortage and higher salaries are one of the ways this, and other Chinese schools, have adopted to attract teachers, along with bonuses for academic and sporting achievements.

Each teacher also has access to a computer at home and this is seen as important by the school as many of the teachers bring their own courseware into class. Computers were also prevalent in the language laboratories and all were Internet-enabled. Certain sites are blocked to the Chinese public and, intriguingly, the Times website is blocked, but not the Guardian.

Admitedly this school is in one of China’s wealthiest areas, but the facilities are still impressive, and it is not just Chinese technology that predominates. The school’s equipment revealed familiar names like Epson, Kodak and Sony. The facilities are good and the market (see panel right) is opening up for British educational suppliers to make an impact.

Many thanks to my interpreter, “Reading” for his help