Going to a British high school for one year was a very enjoyable and exciting experience for me. I was very happy with the school hours in Britain because school starts around 9 a.m. and ends about 3.30 p.m. This means I could get up an hour later than usual, as schools in China begin before 8 a.m.

On the first day, all of the new students attended an assembly in the school hall. I sat next to a girl whose name was Diana. We soon became best friends. During the assembly, the headmaster told us about the rules of the school. He also told us that the best way to earn respect was to devote ourselves to study and achieve high grades. This sounded like my school in China.

I had many teachers in the past year. Mr. Heywood, my class teacher, was very helpful. My favorite teacher was Miss Burke. I loved the lessons that she gave in English Literature. In our class there were 28 students. This is about the average size for British schools. We had to move to different classrooms for different classes. We also had different students in some classes, so it was a struggle for me to remember all the faces and names.

I found that the homework was not as heavy as what I used to get in my old school. However, it was a bit challenging for me at first, because all the homework was in English. I felt lucky, as all my teachers gave me much encouragement and I enjoyed all my subjects: English, History, English Literature, Computer Science, Maths, Science, PE, Art, Cooking and French.

My English improved a lot, as I used English every day and spent an hour each day reading English books in the library. I usually went to the Computer Club during the lunch break, so I could send e-mail to my family and friends back home for free. I also had an extra French class on Tuesday evenings. Cooking was really fun as I learnt how to buy, prepare and cook food. At the end of term we held a class party and we had to cook something. I was glad that all my classmates were fond of the cake that I made.

Students at that school have to study Maths, English and Science, but can stop studying some subjects if they do not like them, for example, History and French. They can choose other subjects like Art and Computer Science, or languages such as Spanish and German. In the Art class that I took, I made a small sculpture. Though it did not look very beautiful when it was finished, I still liked it very much.

I missed Chinese food a lot at lunch. British food is very different. British people like eating dessert at the end of their main meal. After lunch, we usually played on the school field. Sometimes I played football with the boys. Sometimes I just relaxed under a tree or sat on the grass.

I was very lucky to experience this different way of life. I look back on my time in the UK with satisfaction, and I really hope to go back and study in Manchester again.