Twin schools get together in the right place at the right time.

When Neatherd High School teacher Louise Carey planned an ambitious student visit to their twin school, Nanyang Middle School in Shanghai, she didn't know anything about The Box.

A dozen pupils and staff were going to develop plans for the schools' partnership - and exciting experience for everyone, especially pupils who had never flown before.

But then the timing was perfect. 

They flew into Shanghai from Norfolk just as The Box completed its sea journey to Shanghai from Southampton. 

The Box is a large container used to ship goods around the world.  Some say without the box, modern global trade simply couldn't happen.  BBC News have fitted one with a tracker device and will follow it for a year to tell stories of globalisation and the world economy.

BBC News School Report needed young reporters to give their views. The two schools have been down to the docks and are working together to tell the story in English and in Mandarin.
 
And you can read BBC News School Reports on The Box from Neatherd High School, Dereham in English on the BBC News School Report website and from Nanyang Middle School, Shanghai in Mandarin on the BBC Chinese service website.

During the visit Neatherd High are also hoping to boost communication with their partner school so that they will be able to work together more effectively despite the distance.

We'll follow up on the outcomes of their visit when they get back to Norfolk.

How did they do that?

Find out more about BBC News School Report. 

Find out all about The Box at BBC News.  Track the BBC box on a live updating map as it travels the globe.
 
Read Neatherd High School's international blog and local reports on Neatherd High School's visit from the Eastern Daily Press.

Neatherd High School received a British Council joint curriculum grant as well as doing their own fund raising for the visit. The partnership between Neatherd High School and Nanyang Middle School is part of a wider cluster of schools in Norfolk and Xuhui district in Shanghai working together.   Read more about international education in Norfolk.

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