The students in the Academy had the privilege and pleasure to welcome Madame Zhang, Chinese Consul General, to the school on Wednesday 8 February.  The school has an established Classroom Programme in partnership with the Confucius Institute Northern Ireland Ulster University (CINIUU).  Every year the school receives a fully qualified Mandarin teacher who delivers language and cultural classes as part of the school’s Sixth Form Enrichment Programme.  In addition, this teacher also delivers language and cultural classes to several of the Academy’s partner primary schools.  Annually, hundreds of local students are given the opportunity to develop a greater understanding of China and the crucial importance of future economic partnerships with this region of the world.

Madame Zhang was very impressed with the Academy students and echoed the words from the Principal, Mr Robin McLoughlin OBE, when he commended the extremely talented students across the local community.  Mr McLoughlin and Madame Zhang both agreed that Northern Ireland has a very bright future with these exceptional young people at the helm.

Year 13 pupil, Evelin Bor, was a prize winner in the NICIUU Chinese New Year Poster Competition 2023 which celebrated the Year of the Rabbit, and five Sixth Form students finished runners-up in the Chinese Bridge Speaking Competition in the UK Finals in 2022.  The Sixth Form students wrote, produced and starred in a video promoting links with China.  Mr Cromie attended the ceremony in London on behalf of the school, acknowledging the tremendous efforts of the students who produced a professional quality production, delivering the entire spoken content in Mandarin.

Madame Zhang toured the school and met with a group of students, as well as members of the Senior Leadership Team.  She was so impressed with the school and the students that she issued a formal invite to the Academy to visit the Consulate in Belfast later in the academic year.