This series is divided into three parts under the themes of sports, leadership, and the arts. This is part two of the three-part series. The talented art students share the projects they are most proud of here. As Dulwich College Beijing’s graduating class of 2017 bids final farewell to family and friends, they have come full circle and share their experiences and advice for younger students.
Dulwich College Beijing (DCB) offers numerous athletic programs to their students as part of their physical education curriculum and after school activities.
Students get numerous opportunities to take part in competitions organized by the school and the Dulwich College International network such as the Dulwich Olympiad, the annual Rugby, Netball, and Tennis competition, Dulwich College Games and others that the school takes part in such as Association of China and Mongolia International Schools (ACAMIS) and Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA) tournaments according to the sports department.
Ben at a tournament on the school’s soccer pitch
Three DCB students share life lessons they learned on and off the pitch/field/pool; Danish Rebecca S., who has been at DCB for ten years, Chinese-Ethiopian Binyam A. for a total of ten years, and British Ben B. for four years.
Rebecca: In Junior School, I played handball, athletics, gymnasts and cross-country. In senior school I began to play football, volleyball, and basketball, swimming until Year 8. I am captain of the girls’ varsity football and volleyball teams.
Binyam: My main sport is football and I have been playing since I was six-years-old. I played basketball as well, volleyball, and a little bit of rugby but as I got older I only play football now. I’m captain of the varsity football team.
Ben: In terms of sports, coming to Beijing meant a big change. In the UK, I played cricket, hockey, and rugby and they were my three main sports. When I came to Beijing, the sports offered were different, they didn’t offer rugby, hockey, or cricket. I play football now.
The gains from playing a sport helped shape their experiences.
Rebecca: There are physical benefits. You feel good about yourself. There are also the social aspects as well, which is really nice. I think all of my best friends come from sports teams.
Binyam: Like Rebecca said, the social aspect is huge. You get to meet so many new people. Another big thing is it’s a great stress reliever especially as we are getting older and the workload starts to grow. It helps me sort of process better. I find after training, everything sort of falls into place and you see it in a better light, it becomes easier [to handle].
Ben: Diversification. Although the only sport I played here is football, I learned about basketball, and I enjoy watching it sometimes. Probably the biggest thing that has already been mentioned is the social aspect. I was new to Dulwich, it helped to break that social barrier with a sport which was nice. Sports enables you to push yourself, and in terms of academics, I think that’s good, especially when you are in a highly academic school like Dulwich, you can push yourself further than you think.
Rebecca runs after a ball during a match
Unlike many schools, DCB encourages their students to coach. The students share what their coaching experience has been like.
Rebecca: I coached the same team twice; when I was in Year 11 & 12 (Grade 10 & 11), I used to coach Year 7 (Grade 6) students football together with their teacher. It’s a very different kind of experience of interacting with younger students that you may not have the opportunity to meet and talk to. They think of me more as a friend than a coach.
Binyam: I coached in Year 10, my little brother’s team actually. It was a really great experience working with them for it showed me a different approach to football. My brother plays it for fun and you see that when you play football and are having fun, you develop so much better. I learned more from my little brother.
Ben: I coached cricket to Junior School and younger Senior School students; it was fun. I played cricket a lot and there’s a big difference between playing and teaching. It has changed my perspective of cricket a bit because it made me realize how difficult it is to teach a sport, so I praise people who can do that effectively.
Binyam gets ready to shoot the ball
Future prospects.
Rebecca – Gap year with three projects: Dive Master Course in Indonesia, wildlife rehabilitation center in Africa, and Football Academy in Denmark.
Binyam – holding offers at Northeastern University, University of Toronto and St. Andrews University
Ben – Kings College London
Words of advice.
Ben: Don’t be afraid to fail. Try risky things. I think people catastrophize things. Get that balance and get that stress relief.
Binyam: Take every opportunity you have, even if you feel like your ability isn’t where you think it should be or you think you are not the best player just keeping going at it, keep going to training.
Rebecca: Take advantage of the relationships you make, you can learn from each other. Those relationships tend to help with the different strenuous aspects of school life
This post is paid for by DCB.
Photos: Courtesy of DCB and Uni You
