Ting, U6

Ting joined the school in Lower 4 from Beijing, China. She is now in Upper 6, finishing her A Levels and is particularly passionate about music and art. Ting has shared her perspective as an international student, and a friendly and valued member of Wilkins House.

“I've always had so much fun being a boarder, there are so many activities in the evening and on the weekends. We do all kinds of things and have the opportunity to mix with girls boarding in other year groups, which has made my time here enjoyable. During my GCSEs and now A Levels, boarding became really useful for me in terms of doing work with my friends because we all revise together.

The boarding environment is really supportive, girls from older years were always willing to help and of course the staff are so nice. Mrs Blunt, she was my housemistress when I first joined, she really helped me settle in to the school, always checked up on me and I could always so to speak with her if I needed to. They make the boarding houses really homely and cozy, they put books in the communal area, we have DVDs and games too, so the sit feels like home.

I returned home during the pandemic and completed the whole of Lower 6 online, the teachers were so supportive and really did all they could to make sure we didn't miss out. They even did extra lessons for us to suit the time difference, because often the UK time for our lessons was really late in Beijing. It was difficult but I'm really greateful because they always made sure we were ok.

The Director of Sixth Form, Mr Stephenson, taught me Psychology in Lower 6. He is really approachable and always available to help us. This year lots of us are applying to university, I am applying to UK and American universities, he has lots of advice and is able to help us with our applications, explaining the process so it isn't so daunting for us. You know he genuinely care and wants you to get in. Mr Stephenson and Dr Fancourt really are helping us every step of the way.

The catering team at Queen Anne’s are such a privilege for all of us, especially for overseas students like me. All of the kitchen staff try their best to offer a wide range of cuisines for us, and we even had Asian dishes on Chinese New Year!