University graduates who attended Saltus Grammar School are being offered the chance to live and work in China on a one-year internship.

Daniel Dorrington and his wife, Rebecca, left Saltus to take up posts with Dulwich International High School in Suzhou in 2012. They set up an internship at the school for graduates who had attended Saltus, and the first to benefit was Bermudian Emily Chadderton, 22, who has now been offered and has accepted a full-time job at the Chinese school.

“My wife and I worked for Saltus for seven and five years respectively,” Mr Dorrington said. “I was the head of geography and my wife was the drama teacher. We held various other positions — head of year, head of house, and I also ran the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

“The school in China continues to grow and we thought that by offering an internship we would be able to hire students that we knew or had taught, as well as being able to offer someone an incredible experience.”

The internship is for one year and the primary responsibility would be assisting with the management of the boarding house. Each intern would be responsible for a floor of between 30 and 45 Chinese (English-speaking) students all aged 14 and above.

Some hours would be also spent in the school in a department suited to the person’s skill set. “We’d also love to have someone with a passion for drama who would help Rebecca out,” Mr Dorrington said.

“The school is rapidly expanding, so there are many opportunities for interns to get involved in other aspects of school life — from marketing, finance, administration, as well as teaching to make up a full working week. Working hours in the school would be flexible to reflect the hours on duty in the boarding house. As a growing school, the chance of good interns being offered contracts after their internship is high.

“The package is competitive and includes accommodation and food, flights to and from China, and around $600 per month. Interns need to be university graduates for work permit reasons and the start date would be around mid-August 2016.”

He said it was an opportunity to work with smart, well-behaved students, travel relatively cheaply within China, enhance a résumé by demonstrating the ability to manage a large number of students, demonstrate working as an effective team member and demonstrate adaptability and resourcefulness.

“It really is an incredible country and the internship would offer so much more than simply working at a school,” Mr Dorrington added. “It is a life-changing opportunity.”

Ms Chadderton has been offered a PGCE in PE and a guaranteed two years’ work as a qualified PE teacher.

She said: “When I first saw the post about the job, I was quite keen to take on the adventure, but naturally I had my reservations.

“After taking the job, I was still in the process of completing my master’s degree, so I didn’t have much time to think about the journey I would be embarking on. A few months down the line, I am thoroughly enjoying working at Dulwich International High School.

“The students and staff members are a pleasure to be around. I look forward to coming back next year. A quote which sums it up really well, for me, is ‘sometimes you have to jump in feet first and think about it later’.”

Jon Beard, deputy head and director of advancement at Saltus, said: “This is a tremendous opportunity for a young person to gain the kind of experience that is invaluable in life, as well as work.”

•For more information, e-mail Mr Dorrington on Daniel.dorrington@dchigh-suzhou.cn