The Week Ahead

We are pleased to announce the date for the official opening of our new state-of-the-art Wellington College International Hangzhou building. The official opening ceremony will take place on Saturday 23 October at 4.00pm. Please scan the QR code below to register.

Elections for our House Captains took place and the five new Captains now begin the process of establishing themselves in role, whilst developing their leadership skills and figuring out how best to motivate their peers to win. Each pupil at Wellington College International Hangzhou is assigned to a House when they join the school. Each time they compete in a House event or are awarded a House Point in class, it adds to the House tally. Overall winners of each term are announced through our celebration assemblies, abundantly filled with drum rolls and whooping and cheering as pupils follow the fortunes of their House.

Mr. Brown with the House Captains
From left to right:
Jacob, Hank, Nini, Serena, Chloe

It is a true statement that every pupil (and staff member) feels that their House is the best. This sense of competition is healthy and we fully encourage House pride and the sense of belonging that this brings. Our House names follow The Wellington College UK and our system is designed to provide leadership and collaborative opportunities to pupils across all ages whilst helping them to build enduring friendships that last well beyond school years. 

The House system is a uniquely British part of our educational offering and the excellent pastoral care we provide, in addition to the excellence of our academic curriculum explain how we are rapidly becoming the international school of first choice in Hangzhou.

Stewart Brown

Head of Senior School

I am happy to announce that we have partnered with Unifrog (www.unifrog.org) to provide pupils with the first class advice on making academic choices. They are an online platform with a wealth of knowledge on all things university and careers related including:

Pupils in Year 10 have been given their individual logins to start building their portfolios. Our university advisers will be using this beneficial resource in their weekly lessons with the pupils right up until their applications are sent off in their final year of school.  

The first of many exciting online events include a webinar specifically for pupils in Asia. Participants will join top universities from around the world to speak to their representatives, and attend live sessions on how to apply successfully, understand student finance, and what it's like to study in different countries. 

Pupils can join by logging in and following the link to ‘Webinars’. Alternatively, they can follow this link: 
https://www.unifrog.org/webinars/upcoming/277-unifrog-university-fair-for-students-in-asia 

Details are as follows: 
Date: Thursday 30 September 
Time: 5.00pm - 8.00pm 

Other upcoming events include:

I strongly encourage pupils to login and access this wealth of expertise and knowledge. Please discuss these events with your child and decide which sessions you would like to join. It would be worth making it a family event so parents can also learn about studying abroad.

Hatty Leung

Head of Sixth Form

Consider a classroom in which group work focuses not only on mastering academic material but also on how well pupils collaborate and communicate with each other.  To succeed, pupils must be able to analyse problems and communicate their findings to others, share their vision, listen and work as a collective team. These skills are imperative for today’s youngest generations, who require a wide-ranging set of social and emotional abilities to prepare them for the demands of a rapidly changing workplace. Furthermore, studies have shown that developing these skills pay dividends in academic performance, such as the ability to think critically and to learn through self-reflection, alongside other measures of wellbeing.

At the weekend, Years 5 and 6 pupils embarked on an overnight adventure of friendship, independence, and self-discovery. They faced challenges and were set tasks specifically designed to encourage work with others and manage resources to achieve a shared goal. They discovered that the best teamwork and collaboration was not always achieved with their best friends, but in teams that were diverse and where different skills were celebrated. 

At WCIH, we purposefully focus on skills such as collaboration and communication in lessons to develop positive behaviour and build character.  To foster these skills, we practice a diverse set of instructional practices, including cooperative group work, discussions, peer-to-peer teaching, problem-solving and group reflection. One specific strategy is called “think-pair-share”. This encourages pupils first to think about a problem or question alone, then in pairs and finally in groups to summarise their findings. These kinds of strategies are purposeful and planned to develop skills such as collaboration and communication, skills that are vital for the future success.

Matthew Coleman

Head of Primary School

This week the Senior School celebrated Hardinge’s win in the first house sports competition this year. Benson took second place, Combermere third, Murray fourth and Ragan fifth.  The houses were complimented on their commendable sportsmanship in the event. All players played by the rules and were gracious in defeat.  We are proud of the efforts demonstrated by all houses, not just for their level of skill, but their passion to win while showing respect for fellow teammates and referees.

Senior school pupils are currently preparing themselves for sports day with this week’s focus on sprinting. Some of our athletes will have the opportunity to represent Wellington in track and field events later in the year. Our sports day practice lessons are a prime opportunity for our athletes to learn and practice techniques vital for achieving personal bests.

Timothy Schulze

Head of PE