Monmouth School for Girls

I have studied in the UK since Year 10, and am now a university Year 1 student. I have spent my high school life in Monmouth, a small town in Wales. My secondary school, Monmouth School for Girls, is a boarding school and welcomes students from Year 7 to 13.

Monmouth School for Girls, just like other day and boarding schools in UK, provides a wide range of school activities for students to join, such as sports, dance, art, etc. Students can also initiate one themselves if they could not find one that interest them. Some of their school facilities are larger or even more comprehensive than some schools in cities. For example, there is a meadow, grass pitch, gym and swimming pool. They even have three tennis courts!

Other than these, what I like the most about the school would be its location. Having lived in Hong Kong for most of my life, when I was deciding which school to go to in the UK, I would like to choose somewhere different, possibly somewhere less noisy and busy, yet not too isolated from cities. And Monmouth matches my criteria perfectly. It locates in the countryside, around 45 minutes away from Cardiff, a main city in Wales. Its location not only allows student to enjoy country life but also to travel to larger cities, such as for shopping or movies. Students there are largely away from noises, and other temptations in cities, so they could be more focused on their academics.

Before I started my A-levels in Monmouth School for Girls, I had an offer from Cardiff Sixth Form College, which is the rank 1 high school in UK. But I chose to give up their offer finally. One of the reasons, as mentioned, would be the environment, especially now that I am studying in London and re-experienced the busyness and noisiness in big cities, I could say I really enjoyed the fresh air and slow paced life in the countryside.

Another reason is that I believe a good attitude, rather than the ranking of my school, is what motivates a student to have good results. I don’t mean that ranking is useless, but I think to achieve good grades, students’ own thoughts would be crucial, whereas support from school and teacher would only be secondary.

In Hong Kong, students are given guidelines in what to study and memorize, and they would get good grades as long as they follow the teachers' guidance. This is not the situation here. In the UK, schools rely on students’ self-motivation. Teachers teach us the basic knowledge required to pass examinations, but students have to do further reading and research to get higher marks. Teachers are always there when students encounter any questions or problems, no matter if they are school or personal life-related. Therefore, students who are hard-working and eager to learn would have more chance in getting better results. This education method is consistently brought onto university, but for more difficult and subject-specific knowledge.