The YK Pao School Scholarship Programme, established in 2012, was created to recognize student excellence. The Scholarship Programme aims to build a strong, diverse, and accomplished student body through recognizing and celebrating students who demonstrate outstanding achievements. At the same time, it also allows students from diverse backgrounds to join Pao School. This year, over 40 students benefit from the scholarship programme due their excellent academics and their positive contributions to the school community.
As representatives of Pao School’s values, scholarship holders must have a good character, show strong leadership and balanced interests. Scholarship awards are selected from students both already within the school, and for those newly applying. Within the programme, there are two primary categories of awards, Academic Scholarship and International Fellowship, both in line with the Pao School mission. Since the founding of the scholarship, more and more supporters and friends of the school have donated generously to the YK Pao School Foundation to support the programme.
Finding recognition, becoming a leader
“If I viewed my life from a birds-eye view, then I can see how I have changed over the course of being at Pao School. I have gotten a lot of opportunities in leading certain activities and forming projects. Before I came, I wouldn’t have had the courage to stand up and be the leader. ”
— Isabel, Y10
Isabel, Year 10, transferred to Pao School two years ago from an international school. She was hoping to find a school that “had a good mix of Chinese and Western culture,” feeling that it was essential for preserving her Chinese identity. In Pao School, she also saw the opportunity to experience lots of different clubs, engage in a vibrant student community and get involved in a variety of academic competitions.
Isabel is now involved in a variety of activities at school through CCAs and clubs, including calligraphy, Model United Nations, Debate and is a captain of the school’s United States Academic Decathlon (USAD) teams.
“USAD fulfils your academic wishes, as well as giving you a tight community of friends.” She explains. As part of the team, each session students lead sessions with the rest of the team in learning more about one of USAD’s ten subjects – including such areas as art, economics, literature, math, music, science, and social sciences. Isabel, whose special area of interest is science, enjoys being able to simultaneously master a subject, whilst also gaining a breadth of knowledge as part of a mixed-grade group.
Last year, she joined USAD-C as a captain, which supported her growth as a leader through her responsibilities negotiating with the school, making plans, motivating the team and problem-solving. Her leadership helped see the team achieve excellent results, with nearly all the participants winning awards. As an individual, she relished the opportunity to work as a team, saying, “We were all working together for a strong goal, we have this shared consensus of hard work. I hate the feeling of fighting for something alone, but if you are with someone else it is really fantastic.”
Alongside the development of her leadership skills and improvements academically, Isabel has improved her overall mentality since coming to the school. Particularly, the recognition she received as an Academic Scholarship holder for her hard work has boosted her confidence. Initially, she wasn’t expecting to get receive a nomination and explains it was an honour to be simply considered by her teachers. This confidence is one of the main ways she has changed since coming to Pao School, as previously she was extremely shy.
Scholarship students not only have academically diverse interests but are also active with social projects and giving back to the community. On one such project, Isabel worked as part of a team of six to support a school in rural China through drama and collaboration. The team worked with the school to create a play about the school’s special history and then taught it to the school’s Grade 5 students. Isabel helped create the play and create mini online drama classes, including skills such as pronunciation, stage movement, and prop use. The students then learned the play for performances at both their school and for a special public Children’s Day performance.
Initially, Isabel got involved as she wanted to give something back to a community that extended beyond a financial or resource donation. As drama brings her joy, she wanted to share this joy with the students and “help them in spirit and through emotions.” She also learned much from the experience, saying it helped develop her understanding of the world.”
Developing side-by-side,
from teammate to captain
“At YK Pao School, everyone is really accepting, so socialising is very easy. The only hard thing is to keep up with the Chinese culture because there is always a new saying. I don’t always know what is happening. But there always someone who can understand part of my culture or interests.”
—Matteo, Y12
Matteo, Y12, has been part of the Pao School since Year 1. He has been part of the scholarship programme since Middle School, and through his diverse multicultural background – Italian and Chinese – brings a fresh voice to the school as a holder of the International Fellowship Scholarship.
As a keen sportsman, Matteo has been involved in many sports such as basketball, cricket and rugby throughout his years at Pao School. Matteo is also the current captain of the High School’s varsity team, showing the spirit of the Scholarship Programme through his contributions to sport and leadership.
Originally, Matteo joined Pao School’s football team in Year 3 and since then his experiences as part of the team have become a significant part of his life. In particular, he remembers a trip to Singapore in Year 5. As it was the first time that the team competed with others from around the world, the experience was an important milestone for Matteo. Though the scorching 40°C heat was a challenge, the team were victorious in their games and it represented a change in perspective, “After that, I think everyone on the team pushed themselves even harder to become even more competitive.”
After many years of practice and competition, Matteo was nominated by teachers to became captain as he entered into Year 11. As a defender with the benefit of being positioned to see the whole field, he already was in the habit of shouting instructions to his teammates. Now, as captain, this is an official responsibility, alongside keeping the team focused and pushing them to give it all during training. At first, this was hard, but he says that as a leader he has learned to delegate, trust his teammates more and allow them to pursue their own self-development.
Matteo’s development as a leader has been one of the many ways he has grown at the High School, as he has also become more independent and more sociable with people of all backgrounds and ages. He has boarded at the school from Year 6 onwards and explains although there was always someone to help, he still has had to learn self-reliance and to relate to both students and teachers alike in their shared space.
In the future, Matteo is interested in studying sports psychology, as he has a fascination with understanding people and how they work. He explains that this is also inspired by his favourite IB subject – Sports, Exercise & Health Science. “Mr Jones is always pushing us to use our knowledge for real-life applications. For example, when we play football, he always reminds us which muscles are involved or which joints are moving with each kick. It made me interested in the subject because it can apply to everything that we do.” He explains.
On days when he isn’t on the pitch, Matteo also likes to relax through music and has been an avid pianist since Year 5. Like sports, he loves to play for an audience and to build an air of excitement. In particular, he enjoys learning lively pieces adapted by his music teacher, which can connect to others. Though they seem very different, his enjoyment of connecting to an audience is also reflected in his love of sports, he says, “It’s the energy that sports gives, being able to fight alongside other people and to achieve the same goal. I also really like the energy of the crowd and being able to enjoy that sensation amongst a lot of people.”
Overcoming the odds, questioning everything
“The scholarship really gave me a sense of having to give back to the community, to try to work hard to earn my scholarship. I didn’t see it as something I was going to get or something that I was entitled to.”
— Diego, Y11
Diego, Year 11, has been at Pao School for over six years. As an active part of the Pao School student community, he leads the Debate Club and the Pao Symposium Society. However, during his journey to leadership and scholarship, there have been many hurdles to overcome.
In Year 8, in the wake of health problems that resulted in low attendance, Diego faced a number of challenges. However, he says, the school gave him essential support and understanding through it's student support programmes. Initially, he was shocked to even be considered for a scholarship given his previous struggles. “I think that is very much to do with the support network that Pao School has to offer.” he commented.
One of his particular passions is Debate Club, as he loves to support others as they learn more about how to express their thoughts and opinions. As a debater, Diego enjoys being part of a close community, learning how to research new topics, and developing his ability to ‘change someone’s mind’. Usually, the group meet twice a week in CCA time, to practise forming research directions, review argument drafts and host mock debates.
Diego is also a founding member of the Pao Symposium Society. The Society, named after a famous dialogue by the philosopher Plato, discusses current events and philosophy – giving students a platform to learn more and dig deep into topics that they would not normally discuss in everyday life. For example, in light of the ongoing disruptions in the Middle East, the group recently discussed the topic: ‘What is terrorism?’. Initially, the first symposium attracted a few people but has grown with each event, with the most recent attracting 16 sign-ups. Organising the group has also given him the chance to develop his skills such as dealing with others, creating posters and negotiating with the school.
Alongside his interest in debate and philosophy, Diego is an avid cyclist and has an interest in planes. Every summer, he makes a special effort to try new things. During the last school year, he extended his interests through the LAMDA CCA, which provided him with a platform to learn more about drama and performance. It was also a subject where he could explore his emotions, he says, “I took drama in Year 6, at YK Pao School, and I thought maybe it could help me let off some steam. It was a stress relief mechanism, and I could learn to feel the emotions of the characters.”
His enjoyment of sharing knowledge with others and performance has also stretched to social projects within the school. Last year, he became involved with a project teaching Year 6/7 Pao School students topics they would not normally cover. Diego’s focus was on philosophy and history, the experience not only gave him a chance to give back to the school community but also taught him how to talk about complicated topics in simple and accessible language to younger students.
Scholarship holders are academically outstanding, have a diverse area of interests and
are expected to contribute positively to the Pao School community. Students are selected
by the Pao School faculty and will then enter a competitive application process.
For those who are applying to Pao School and are interested in more information about
the Scholarship Programme, please get in contact at:
Tel: 021-61671999 – 8105
Email: admissions@ykpaoschool.cn
