The Week Ahead
Senior School Matters
As the Spring Festival approaches, I am fully engaged with teacher recruitment. My quest to replace those excellent teachers leaving us goes well, with most positions already filled with high calibre and well-experienced teachers. I am also recruiting extra world-class teachers to accommodate the size increases that we are making next year here at Wellington College International Hangzhou. I feel optimistic and assured that the new teachers coming in will integrate our systems and practices with ease, bringing their expertise and classroom magic whilst maintaining the absolute high standard for which we are well known in the community.
As we do regularly, listening to our learners, we are keenly aware of the types of teachers and learning experiences they favour. Pupils are clear that they want hard-working, interesting and often strict teachers who set homework and stick to deadlines. I feel hugely privileged to be leading a school at such a key part of its life and in such a strong growth phase on the road to securing our position as the international school of first choice in Hangzhou.
Stewart Brown
Head of Senior School
Sixth Form Matters
Our university guidance counsellor, Emily Deacon, has been working hard to pave the way for our pupils to apply for university. Alongside her weekly University Preparation lessons, she has also registered Wellington College Hangzhou as a UCAS centre. We are ready to send off our pupils’ UK university applications when the time comes.
What does ‘UCAS’ stand for, and what is it?
‘UCAS’ stands for the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. Through this platform, pupils will complete their applications for UK universities.
What are pupils required to do through UCAS?
When pupils apply, they must register an account with UCAS. Here, they will need to fill in their personal details, education history, qualifications (GCSEs), predicted A-Level grades, and personal statement. They will also input their final university choices. Pupils are permitted to apply for up to 5 courses, or if applying to Medicine, Dentistry or Veterinary Science, the maximum is four courses.
What is a 'personal statement'?
A personal statement is a written document where each pupil outlines why they are interested in applying for their particular courses. It is the only part of the pupil application process which can be personalised. It is essential to demonstrate intellectual curiosity and academic excellence and highlight your best personal attributes. The statement should be no longer than 4000 characters or 47 lines. This means it will be about 600 to 1000 words.
What can pupils be doing to prepare for their UCAS application?
The UCAS application will be sent in the autumn term of the final year at school. Therefore, this period now is all about preparation. First, pupils will need to know what they want to study and where they want to go. This means that the pupils need to think about what they enjoy and whether or not they will be happy spending a further 3 or 4 years studying this subject. Personality and interest quizzes are available on Unifrog and suggested courses and careers. Once pupils have decided upon their course, they can research different universities. It is also worth building pupil profiles by participating in extra curricular activities so that other skills such as communication and leadership can be developed.
We are thrilled to be a registered UCAS centre and are excited about guiding our pupils through a university experience they will enjoy.
Information Session
The University of Nottingham Ningbo hosts an information session on Wednesday, 19 January, at 7:00pm. If you are interested, please sign up using the QR code.
The 11th chapter in the British Council’s China Schools Virtual Campaign is an online webinar run by Professor Xavier Pick from Arts University Bournemouth on ‘Creative Space: the relationship between an artist and their environment’. It will be an excellent experience for our artists to participate in a session run by a lecturer to get a real taste of learning at university.
When: Tuesday 29 March, 7:00pm
Please sign up using the QR code
Hatty Leung
Head of Sixth Form
Primary School Matters
Curiosity is crucial to learning
In the past few weeks, I have been actively talking to and interviewing various teachers worldwide. The aim is to find the best teachers who have the required knowledge, competency, skill set and personality to help us drive forward.
A common discussion point is about ‘engaged’ pupils and how, as teachers, we inspire curiosity. Curiosity comes from a place of desire instead of a place of need.
In education, we tend to value a pupils ability to answer our questions. But what might be more important is their ability to ask questions–and more critically, their willingness to do so.
Terry Heick
At Wellington College International Hangzhou, we purposefully aim to instigate curiosity in our pupils. We talk to pupils over lunch and a break, find out their interests and passions and challenge our instructional design, lesson design and curriculum mapping.
Matthew Coleman
Head of Primary School
Sport Matters
On Saturday, the Wellington College Hangzhou U/12 netball team played the Wycombe Abbey. Mrs Punch coached the WCH netball team, Miss Chen and Ms Wood. All these coaches have many years of experience both playing and coaching netball. Our girls played exceptionally well, winning the game while demonstrating not only their athleticism but excellent sportspersonship.
The U/12 football team, coached by Mr Witter and Miss Bear, played the U/12 Wycombe Abbey. The boys won their game, demonstrating superior offensive and defensive strategy.
WCH is proud of our talented athletes, who continuously display their best efforts to make Wellington College Hangzhou the premier sporting venue in Hangzhou.
Timothy Schulze
Head of PE
Performing Art Matters
Chinese New Year is almost upon us. After a busy Christmas, WCIH students are preparing to collaborate with HSH students in Gala concerts, including Chinese drummers, the ukulele group, orchestra and choir. WCIH will also be holding its own Chinese New Year celebrations, providing an opportunity for soloists to showcase their talents to celebrate the oncoming Year of the Tiger.
Performing Arts at WCIH strives to provide an opportunity for all pupils to perform throughout the year and promote individuals who display exceptional talent through diligence and hard work.
Craig Perkinton
Music Teacher
Dukebox Matters
Please click here to tune into our Dukebox radio throughout the week to enjoy various shows, including “Marty James breakfast show”, “The big yellow bus show”, “Motown/Rock shows” among others.
Don’t worry if you missed any of the live shows as you can access them on our exclusive “Listen again” service here.
Please click here to have a look at the some of the wonderful content available in our podcast section
Here are the most recent podcasts created by our pupils and staff:
Martin Bailey
Dukebox Presenter
Upcoming Events
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