AN EXPERIMENT at Bohunt School, which compared the Chinese and British teaching methods, has produced some interesting results.

Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School was broadcast on BBC Two over three hour-long episodes this summer.

The programme took 50 mixed-ability Year 9 Bohunt students and gave them a Chinese-style education for four weeks.

The Chinese School students had longer hours than their Bohunt peers, with the Chinese School running from 7am to 7pm.

Lessons at the Chinese School mainly involved teachers lecturing pupils, who had to copy the information and memorise it.

The Chinese-style education led to a cultural clash with some of the students, rebelling and misbehaving in class.

While most of the pupils who misbehaved got in trouble for talking during class, one student was in hot water for bringing a kettle into school and making tea.

However, after some behaviour problems in the first two episodes, the pupils’ behaviour improved considerably in the third episode, which could indicate that the Chinese teachers won the respect of the students.

While the majority of the pupils appeared to struggle to adapt to the Chinese method of teaching, some youngsters appeared to flourish.

At the end of the project, the Chinese School pupils and the remainder of Year 9 took exams in science, maths and Mandarin.

Interestingly, the Chinese School came out on top in all of the exams.

In science, the Chinese School students’ average score was 58.33 per cent, compared to Bohunt’s 50 per cent.

Chinese School’s average score in maths was 67.74 per cent, compared to 54.84 per cent for Bohunt.

In Mandarin, the Chinese School average score was 46.88 per cent compared to 36.46 per cent for Bohunt.

Bohunt School learnt plenty from the experiment, as did the Chinese teachers.

Bohunt School headteacher Neil Strowger said: “Taking part in the documentary was about looking beyond Bohunt School to see what we can learn from others to improve the education we provide.

“We already undertake science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) work with major companies and have been doing research in the Netherlands, USA and Sweden – and Chinese School formed part of this approach.

“From the experience, we have identified a number of interesting findings which we are already exploring to see if they can further improve our provision.”