At Wellington College Education (China) (WCEC), we have a robust, multi-layered governance structure that provides strategic oversight and accountability across all our schools. It consists of three key components: the WCEC Executive Board, the School Affairs Boards (SABs) and a series of sub-committees.
The WCEC Executive Board serves as the top level of governance, approving group-wide policies and overseeing the Central Office. Each Wellington College Education (China) school then has its own SAB, which is responsible for its governance and strategic direction. The SAB handles critical tasks such as hiring and evaluating school leadership, setting the school’s development plan and evaluating its progress, as well as monitoring educational and financial performance.
To provide more specialised and in-depth governance, the SABs have delegated certain responsibilities to four sub-committees. These allow for deeper analysis and decision-making in their respective domains.
The Academic Sub-Committee (ASC)
The ASC plays a vital role in evaluating the academic performance of our schools. The ASC closely examines a range of data and evidence, including:
• Quality of teaching
• Pupil attainment and progress data
• Public examination results
• University destinations of graduates
The Facilities and Services Sub-Committee (FaSC)
The FaSC oversees the physical infrastructure and support services that enable our schools to thrive. Key duties include:
• Aligning capital expenditure plans with the educational needs of pupils
• Evaluating the quality and effectiveness of services such as catering, uniforms, and transport
• Approving long-term facilities maintenance and improvement plans
• Signing off on capital expenditure budgets for facilities and IT
• Ensuring that robust environmental health and safety measures are in place across all WCEC campuses
The Finance and HR Sub-Committee (FiHRSC)
The Finance and HR Sub-Committee (FiHRSC) is tasked with safeguarding the financial sustainability of our schools, as well as overseeing the development and compensation of our staff. Specific responsibilities include:
• Approving annual operating budgets
• Overseeing the creation of multi-year budgets aligned to each school’s educational plans
• Ensuring staff salaries are competitive externally and equitable
The Safeguarding and Child Protection Sub-Committee (SCPSC)
The SCPSC operates across the group. It is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of safeguarding and child protection. Through this sub-committee we uphold our uncompromising commitment to the safety and wellbeing of every pupil in our care. The SCPSC’s key duties are to:
• Review safeguarding updates and reports from the schools
• Monitor the implementation of WCEC’s safeguarding action plans
• Ensure all safeguarding training remains current and in line with best practice from the UK
A key strength of this model is the diverse composition of our boards and committees. We have a balance of full-time, paid employee governors and unpaid, non-executive governors. Appointments come from both Wellington College in Crowthorne and WCEC. The full-time governors bring deep institutional knowledge and administrative expertise, while the non-executive governors provide a wider range of external expertise in areas such as school leadership, academics, finance, legal matters, HR and facilities management.
This blend of voices ensures transparency and accountability while also enabling a more collaborative approach to governance. It has also garnered recognition within the wider field of international education. Most recently, the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) named Wellington College International Hangzhou a Beacon School for its governance practices. It is the only school in China to hold this title. Such an achievement underscores our steadfast commitment to setting the standard for effective, modern school governance.
School Affairs Board
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Andy Yarrow
Anthem Schools
Chief Executive
Andy Yarrow
Governor
Wellington College International Hangzhou/ Hiba Academy Hangzhou
Andy Yarrow has been Chief Executive of Anthem, a UK-based Multi-Academy trust with 16 primary and secondary schools, since March 2017. He spent the previous three and a half years at one of the largest MATs, Oasis Community Learning, as Regional Director for the London and South East Region. Prior to joining Oasis in 2013, Andy was Founding Principal of Chelsea Academy and Headteacher of Hornsey School for Girls in Haringey, London. Both schools achieved outstanding Ofsted judgments under his leadership. Having studied geography at UCL, followed by a PGCE at Cambridge University, Andy started his career as a secondary school geography teacher in London in 1991, moving to Head of Geography in Surrey in 1995, Assistant Headteacher in Hertfordshire in 1998, Deputy Headteacher in Slough in 2000 and headship in 2004.
Andy has been a coach for UCL's NPQH programme and has coached around 100 aspiring and serving headteachers over the past 12 years. Andy also has a considerable interest in international education, having visited schools in over 20 different countries and spoken at school leadership conferences in several, including China.
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Paul Vanni
Wellington College International
International Director
Paul Vanni
Governor
Wellington College International Hangzhou/ Hiba Academy Hangzhou/ Hiba Academy Shanghai
Paul joined Wellington College International in September 2024 having spent 25 years working across a range of schools in London including the prestigious St Paul’s School and St Paul’s Girls’ School where he was Director of School (Senior Deputy) for seven years.
In addition, Paul has considerable experience of setting up and leading new schools. In 2018, Paul became the founding Head of Kensington Park School, a co-educational, 11-18 day and boarding school in central London backed by overseas investors. He has since worked with St Paul’s Girls’ School International and their partners on the SPGSI Shengbo project in China. Paul joins us from Dukes Education where he led the successful OFSTED registration of London Park School Clapham. He has significant experience of independent school governorship across both the prep and secondary age ranges. He was for many years an ISI inspector and has been a principal examiner with Cambridge International Examinations.
Paul has a First-Class degree from University College London in Modern European Studies, a Master’s degree in French literature, and a PGCE from Cambridge. He is fluent in French and Italian, and in his free time enjoys hiking, coaching rowing, traveling, and supporting Brentford Football Club.
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Maya Tarabay Schisano
Friends of Wellington (FOW)
Founding Member & Event Chair
Maya Tarabay Schisano
Governor
Wellington College International Hangzhou/ Hiba Academy Hangzhou
Ms Maya Tarabay Schisano is one of the founding members of the Friends of Wellington (FOW), serving as the Events Chair since 2014 and the Chair in the 2018-19 school year. She worked closely with the College to achieve an open, dynamic and inclusive culture.
Maya has a BA in Interior Design, Marketing and Fine Arts from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon and is fluent in Arabic, French, Italian and English. Currently living in Shanghai, Maya has lived in the United States, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Italy and Australia.
She has extensive experience working in the luxury goods industry, and was at one time a global account manager at Prada. Maya also has experience in public relations and marketing, consulting for various Lebanese businesses as well as MSN Arabia and Sabil Water. In addition, she spent some time working as a presenter for the National Broadcasting Network (NBN) in Lebanon.
Maya first became seriously interested in education when her boys first started school at Wellington College International Shanghai in 2014. Recognising the alignment between the College’s philosophy and ethos and her own, she put her energy and focus as a parent into working towards that common goal: a school in which all children can thrive and that her boys are proud to be Wellingtonians.
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Stephanie Piper
Devonshire House Prep School
Headmistress
Stephanie Piper
Governor
Wellington College International Hangzhou/ Hiba Academy Hangzhou
Stephanie is currently Headmistress at Devonshire House Prep School in London and Group Director of Education for the three schools owned by its proprietors. All three schools are based in central London and reflect the international nature of the areas where they are situated. She holds a BA Hons in French and German and a PGCE from Kings College London. She plans to retire from the Headship at the end of the 2022 academic year but will remain in her role as Director of Education for the group part time.
Stephanie was previously Head at Kings House School in Richmond for nine years and served as a Governor at Epsom College for seven years. She also served on the school's education committee and the committee formed to set up their overseas school in Malaysia.
For over a decade, Stephanie has worked as education officer for the charity Rwanda Action. She has led annual trips in which UK teachers conduct teacher training and has helped set up a teacher training and monitoring programme that is currently being rolled out across the country. She is also actively involved in UK private education as a member of the Independent Association of Prep Schools, having served as a district representative, vice president and now as a member of the national education committee. Additionally, she serves as an ISI schools inspector and is trained in compliance and academic quality inspections.
Jie Zhang
Governor
Hiba Academy Hangzhou/ Wellington College International Hangzhou
Ms. Jie Zhang currently serves as the Deputy Secretary-General at Westlake University, where she oversees the recruitment and management of international undergraduate students. Before her tenure at Westlake University, Ms. Zhang dedicated over three decades to the public and private education sectors in New York City, USA. Her extensive experience includes roles as a high school math teacher, vice principal, principal, and district superintendent. Notably, she was the first Chinese-American principal of the prestigious Stuyvesant High School in New York City.
Westlake University, situated in the West Lake District of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, is a non-profit research institution backed by both societal and national support. Founded in October 2018, the university initially focused on graduate education and has since expanded to include undergraduate programs, with a full-time student population not exceeding 5,000. With Jie Zhang's expertise and leadership, Westlake University is poised to enhance its undergraduate education's international standing.
Jie Zhang holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Automation from Tongji University in Shanghai and a Master's degree in Applied Mathematics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Her children have both pursued successful academic paths; her son graduated from Harvard University, and her daughter from the University of California, Berkeley.
Chen Chen
Governor
Wellington College International Hangzhou/ Hiba Academy Hangzhou
Mr. Chen Chen is an Executive Director in Russell Reynolds who partners closely with multinational and Chinese clients to build effective leadership teams, using his deep experience across a range of industry sectors. He widely advises clients in consumer, industrial and PE industries in leadership related topics.
Chen has over 20 years of experience working with leading organizations. Before joining Russell Reynolds Associates, Chen used to lead the Strategy, M&A, Government Affairs and Marketing functions at leading multinational organizations like Kimberly-Clark, SCA, BSH and Avery Dennison.
Chen is passionate about education and also advises a bunch of education clients. He also got the luxury to study in very different education systems, -- gained his bachelor degree form University of International Relations in Beijing, and two Master Degrees from London School of Economics and University of Southern California, respectively.
