▲Teacher Simon is very popular among Chinese and foreign students.

In the eyes of students, Teacher Simon is an interesting person with a strong sense of rhythm. "He loves music and running, and is also a hundred percent good husband and father!"

Mr Simon Shepherd is British. He studied mathematics at the University of York for his undergraduate degree. Later, he obtained a master's degree in accounting and finance and a master's degree in education from the University of Leeds. The reason why he came to settle and live in Zhongshan is that he met a beautiful international student from Zhongshan at the University of Leeds 12 years ago. "She had to return to Zhongshan after graduation, so I followed her. Unexpectedly, Zhongshan is really a livable city." Speaking of his work and life here, he is full of gratitude. "I am grateful to my wife, her parents, my precious daughter and son, and also the teachers and students at China (Hong Kong) English School."

Simon has taught two rounds of students from senior one to senior three at C.H.E.S. The rate of his students achieving grade A in Cambridge A-Level mathematics exceeds 50%. At the beginning of this new semester, he is leading a new senior one class. Simon said that mathematics in senior one is different from that in senior two and senior three. It needs to be taught more slowly and with a controlled rhythm. "Senior three students are under great pressure from exams and don't like to talk. In class, I will show more interesting and lively aspects to encourage them to interact and express. But freshmen in senior one don't have the pressure of exams. Plus, they are young and their personalities are not yet mature. They are very talkative and lively. So I will be stricter and moderately control classroom discipline." In addition, in the new semester, there are some students who enter from ordinary junior high schools. They need some time to adapt to the all-English mathematics classroom. "Therefore, in senior one, I need to slow down my teaching moderately to ensure that everyone can understand."

According to previous graduates, Teacher Simon's "jokes and small talks" in senior two and senior three cover geography, history, and local customs of Britain and even Europe. But they like best to listen to the teacher talk about Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Mozart... "Simon can make the connection between mathematics and music very interesting. For example, when talking about arithmetic sequences, he takes the classical music 'Canon' as an example and says that this piece is a masterpiece of human rationality in music. The rigor of chords is like a math problem." Yes, he loves music. When he was young, Simon passed the grade 3 violin examination. In 2003, he obtained the grade 8 piano certificate. After coming to China, he actively participated in various New Year's galas, end-of-term ceremonies and other events to perform on the piano. He also often takes his family to the Hong Kong Cultural Center and Zhongshan Culture and Art Center to listen to concerts or watch performances.

"He also loves running!" Some students said that Simon has participated in marathons in Edinburgh and Leeds in the UK, and Hong Kong and Zhongshan in China. Simon can be seen in many public welfare promotional videos of Zhongshan. "Teacher Simon teaches us not only mathematics, but also rich knowledge such as music, history, geography and more. More importantly, he teaches us to love life and be an interesting person." "Except for being strict when it comes to maintaining classroom discipline, his math class is not boring at all."

In recent years, many students have been admitted to universities such as Imperial College London, University College London, and the University of Edinburgh in the UK. Students will ask Teacher Simon for advice on how to quickly adapt to British universities. "Teacher Simon will enthusiastically offer guidance to every student and remind them of what they need to pay attention to in all aspects of life and study." Said Teacher Ms Dai, a colleague at the school.