Art, robotics and a round of applause: a school immersion near Cambridge

For many international students, the biggest surprise about British schools is how much learning happens with their hands. On a recent immersion near Cambridge, students from China spent time in an art studio lined floor to ceiling with pupils’ work. They also joined their UK peers in the design and technology workshop, among half-built robots and engineering models. The aim was not to find one right answer, but to design something, test it and make it better.

The week ended the way British school life so often does: in assembly. With the whole school gathered, the visiting students were called up to receive their certificates, and their classmates of the past week applauded them back to their places. It is a small ceremony, but it is often the moment students remember most.