Set in the heart of Aberdeen Harbour, Victoria Shanghai Academy is a unique school in many ways. It offers a bi-lingual programme with two home room teachers in each classroom. One teaching in Mandarin and the other in English. The school teaches the IB programme incorporating traditional Chinese values.
I was kindly invited to visit the five classes of Year 4 and in total I had the pleasure of meeting 120 children. Walking through the school what impressed me straight away was how large the school was and what wonderful facilities it boasted. The library was buzzing with children buying books at a book sale. I noticed a comfortable sitting area which would be the envy of any school. Shelves were full of books both in Chinese and in English and the numbers of children in there was a good indication of how well the library was used.
I came face to face with a board displaying posters of my books and my visit.
I was welcomed warmly by each teacher as I did the rounds of Year 4, five classes in all. I had taken many activities for each class to do, but we never got round to them as the children had plenty of questions for me. I was suitably impressed by the standard and quality of questions that came my way and some were rather thought provoking.
What was my purpose for writing books?
How did I know that I wanted to write books?
How long does it take to write a book?
How many times did I edit my work before publication?
Who was my favourite type of book?
Did I do any charitable work?
You must admit some of the questions are fairly advanced for 8-9 year olds. I thoroughly enjoyed talking to each class and had I stayed there another day or two I would have known them better individually as they were a delightful group of children.
I do hope that they enjoyed the morning as much as I did and I look forward to visiting them again with my third book as soon as it is published.
Thank you Year 4 at VSA and the class teachers for spending the morning with me and giving me the opportunity to take a peak into your world. I look forward to hearing your feedback once you have read my books.
Anjali Mittal
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