Alumna Marigold Whitaker (2021) is in her second year, reading Chinese at Pembroke College, Oxford and was awarded a Scholarship following her first-year exams having performed at First Class/Distinction level. Currently spending her year abroad Studying in Taiwan at Taipei Normal University we were delighted to hear from Marigold how she has been getting on, and here she shares a little about life in Taiwan and how she has arrived at where she is now:

‘’I’m writing this with Chinese New Year taking place tomorrow, and there are loads of red decorations (春聯) everywhere and closed stores in Taipei as people have headed back to their hometowns to celebrate with family. I’ve just past the half-way point of my time in Taiwan, and I couldn’t be happier here – my Chinese has improved so much after only a few months, and my first-hand experience with cultural phenomena I’ve studied really helps to bring theoretical study to life.

I was always lucky in school that I knew early on I really liked Chinese, from the first Mandarin enrichment lesson with Mrs Liu I was hooked! From there, I spent some of my own time looking up vocabulary, and really enjoyed how characters were composed and how much meaning and history could be contained within such detailed script.

A big reason I was drawn to my current course was having the year abroad in the second year of study, compared to most courses being abroad in the third year. I had already learnt so much and had such great advice and lessons from Mrs Liu and Mrs Kuo, I didn’t want to wait before heading into a Chinese-speaking environment. I was a little hesitant about the course as a large part is Classical Chinese (ancient Chinese – sort of like Latin but in Chinese!) which I had never studied before, but it has been so helpful for my understanding of the modern language and allows me to study original philosophical and historical texts from over two-thousand years ago.

The Modern Language department at RHSB really helped me to prepare for my interviews, and the university admissions help sessions and GDST-organised preparation helped calm my nerves and focus on talking about why I am so passionate about Chinese. A huge thank you to all my IB teachers and supervisors, who helped me through sixth form during a pretty tough time for everyone, and for teaching me invaluable skills which helped me to succeed in my first year of university.

I have just passed half my year abroad in Taiwan, and I love the independence I have over my life here, as well as the opportunities to explore and experience the island since my time is limited. I’ve travelled all the way down to the south and to some small islands (which is possible due to much cheaper transport here), and have thoroughly explored the night markets of Taipei, Tainan and Kaohsiung. I would highly recommend anyone able to visit Taiwan, the diversity of culture and landscape is breath-taking.

I joined the Royal High in year 7! And I’ve also included a picture from me at Jiufen 九份, I’m on the right!’’

We are all very proud of Marigold’s achievements so far and are excited to see what lies ahead for her.

Describing Marigold’s Oxford University Scholarship as ‘A feather in the school’s cap’, Jo Whitaker, Marigold’s mother, explained, ‘Her work stems from her inspirational time at The Royal High giving her the confidence to push for the extra mile academically, while still enjoying the range of extra-curricular things on offer. She even found time to row for her college second boat in the Summer Eights … Mrs Liu’s excellent teaching started her on her path in Mandarin, and the school style of encouraging students to dare to follow their interests has stood her in very good stead.’