Fifth Former Kevin Xu took to writing as a hobby to help develop his writing skills and improve his English when he first started Bedford School as a Fourth Former back in 2020. Little did he know that his articles would be so popular, and he is now the proud author of seven published articles.
Kevin, who is a full-time boarder with us, started to write about his experience of being a boarder in a UK public school. Keen to share his stories with families living in his home country China, Kevin emailed the China-based teens’ current affairs magazine ‘Teens’ with his first article ‘Boarding in the UK’. In the article, he describes a typical school day, how it compares to going to school in China, living in a boarding house and talks about some of the extra-curricular activities he enjoys alongside his studies.
Kevin explained, “It’s crucial that children looking to board in the UK have an idea of what it’s really like, and so I write stories about my time here at school to, hopefully, help make a difference to their understanding.”
Kevin’s articles cover a range of topics including whole school events, such as Remembrance Day and Movember, as well as providing an insight into what he has learnt in lessons, including a book review of, ‘An Inspector Calls’. During the height of the pandemic and recognising that Chinese parents were very cautious and worried about the situation in the UK, he wrote about the many precautions in place in school and his boarding house to help prevent spread of the virus and explained how safe he felt here – all in the hope of giving reassurance.
Kevin has learnt a lot about news reporting in the process. Working with the editorial team at the magazine to shape and enhance his articles, he has learnt how to engage with the audience and his writing has improved greatly.
Kevin will continue to write for the magazine as well as articles for the Bedford School WeChat account (China’s equivalent to Facebook). Despite his great success as a news writer, Kevin would like to pursue a future in maths and physics.
You can read Kevin’s articles below (click on the image to expand):
