How a Taith mobility supported an FE student’s path to Oxford University
In April 2025, ten students from Gower College’s GCS Honours Programme, an academic enrichment and support initiative for ambitious 16–18-year-olds aspiring to study at leading universities in the UK and internationally, travelled to China to immerse themselves in the country’s language and culture.
The impact of the mobility has been remarkable. Of the ten students who participated, five have since secured offers from Oxford or Cambridge. One of them is Samantha, who has been offered a place at the University of Oxford to study Chinese.
Samantha shares how her Taith-funded experience in China strengthened her application, broadened her horizons, and helped shape her academic journey towards studying Chinese at one of the world’s leading universities.
I come from a Polish family, and even though I was born and raised in the UK, I was brought up surrounded by Polish culture at home and British culture at school and in public. Because of this, I have always had an interest in other cultures and languages, which led me to study modern foreign languages.
For many years, Spanish and French were the only two foreign languages offered to me, so my studies were limited to learning about these languages and the cultures of the countries where they were spoken. However, I’ve always wanted to broaden my studies to other cultures, which is why I jumped at the opportunity to go on this trip to China.
I hoped to learn all about the culture, the way of life there, and gain some basic language skills too.
The days during the trip were very busy. We would start early in the morning and only get back to our accommodation late at night because of all the activities our hosts had kindly planned for us.
The lessons were very content-heavy and kept students focused throughout the day, with short breaks in between. The longer breaks were dedicated to food, which was a very important part of our exchange. The hosts always made sure we were well fed and took plenty of time to prepare meals for us, as food is a huge part of culture and hospitality in China.
After school, we always had exciting activities to look forward to, such as seeing the Peking Opera, visiting the Guangdong Museum, and taking part in cultural activities like dumpling making and calligraphy. For me personally, the cultural and language activities were the most important, as they were what I was most keen to learn about.
Being on a school trip so far away from home in a foreign country required all of us to be independent, and I think that was the main skill I learnt during the trip.
Along with this independence came time management and confidence, as we were expected to manage ourselves and our time effectively while spending independent time away from teachers and the school. Communication was also key, as the language barrier made it difficult to clearly communicate everything we wanted to say to the people we met in China. Being able to communicate despite this was a hugely important skill.
Throughout the trip, we gained insight into the cultural differences between life in China and our everyday lives. It was an amazing and eye-opening opportunity to see just how different people’s lives, behaviours and mindsets can be depending on where they live. At the same time, it was reassuring to discover how similar we were in many ways. Even though we came from opposite sides of the world, some things didn’t change at all.
For me personally, it really solidified my decision to study Chinese at university and made me certain that it was the right course for me.
The trip was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that also helped with my application to Oxford and made me stand out from other candidates. It also gave me the opportunity to explore my options after university and helped me see the country and potential career opportunities that could be available through future travel and study.
For me personally, with my chosen university course, it was probably one of the biggest factors that helped me stand out from other applicants. Very few students can say they have had the opportunity to take part in a school exchange trip to China, so without it I think I would have had a much harder time securing the university offers that I received.
The experiences on this trip were unique and included things I never thought I would be able to do, such as walking on the Great Wall of China, studying, even for a short time, in a Chinese school, and seeing performances like the Peking Opera live in person.
All of these experiences are only possible through travelling to China, which is something I never thought I would have the opportunity to do.
I am so happy to have received an offer from Oxford to study Chinese. I know it is one of the best universities for language studies, and for years it has been my dream to study a language there.
I am also grateful to know that I will be able to return to China during my year abroad and relive some of the experiences from this trip. Without this experience, I would not feel as confident in my skills and ability to succeed on the course at Oxford.
My advice to any future students offered a Taith trip is simple: absolutely take it!
It is an amazing programme that can give you a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience that you may never have again. We are so lucky as Welsh students to have this opportunity, and it is absolutely worth it.
Incredible
