The Week Ahead

Resilience and Flourishing

Stoicism is the Ancient Greek philosophy of enduring hardship to attain happiness. The Stoic philosophers would intentionally seek out personal difficulty to better understand how to live with virtue, build resilience and, through this, ultimately arrive at the desired state for all life - which is to flourish. 

The concept of flourishing is very close to my heart and one which we pursue actively for our pupils at Wellington College International Hangzhou through our world-class pastoral care programme and the Positive Education curriculum, which underpins pupil work through our Well-Being programme.

As our sister schools in China continue in various states of lockdown and online learning, we decided to unite our pupil community this week and share positive messages about developing resilience and overcoming adversity. The superb Ben Aldridge - Stoic philosopher, accomplished writer, keen adventurer and mental health advocate - delivered an inspiring keynote speech online to more than 400 Wellington College China pupils. Ben's message was well-received, but if you want to know why cold showers, sleeping on hard floors, wearing chicken hats and taking bananas out for a walk are the order of the day, please ask one of our pupils.

We look forward to many more opportunities for our wider community across China to unite and share in the awesome power of keynotes, to aid us all in learning new ways to flourish together. I would like to personally thank Ben Aldridge and the Wellington College team in Shanghai for this first, powerful keynote. We can't wait for the next one.

Stewart Brown

Head of Senior School

Before pupils begin the 'business end of their revision schedules, it is worth thinking about the summer break and how this can be an opportunity to embark on a new challenge to widen pupils' academic horizons. Many universities provide courses specifically designed for high school pupils to help them continue their learning through the summer months. These are great for pupils who want to sample a subject that they do not currently learn at school, for example, Law, Medicine, Engineering and Psychology. These courses are also suitable for those who know what they love studying and want to learn more. Participation in such events can lead to a stronger university application. It clearly demonstrates a love of learning and will be an interesting discussion point in personal statements and interviews.

At Wellington College Hangzhou, we have put together a booklet comprising the best online offerings from universities and organisations worldwide. These range from 1 week to 3 month long courses and cover a wide variety of subjects such as Media and Communication, Philosophy, Sociology, Economics, Natural Sciences, Computer Science and many more. Each institution has its own entry requirements and application procedure, with most having a deadline in May. Please read through this booklet by scanning the QR code below.

Please contact Selma Sun (Selma.Sun@wellingtoncollege.cn) if you require any further assistance.

Hatty Leung

Head of Sixth Form

Spring is in the air, and the weather is warming. Spring signifies the final term of the academic school year. While educators make one last strive towards achieving all pupils' challenging targets, now is an excellent time to reflect on our experiences and whether the strategies we have actioned have had a sustainable impact.

"Establishing a regular cycle of reflection allows teachers and school leaders alike to sharpen their practice."

Reflective practice is an integral component of effective teaching because teaching is a process that we can improve with deliberation and scrutiny. Without reflection, we could be potentially trapped in a cycle of unexamined judgments, assumptions, and misinterpretations about the impact of interventions and strategies.

Reflection at Wellington College International Hangzhou is a cyclical process we conduct in regular pupil progress meetings and consists of four stages.

Matthew Coleman
Head of Primary School

Pupils in the Senior school have been working on their drama skills, led by Ms Moon. "Macbeth" (or "The Tragedy of Macbeth"), a play by William Shakespeare, is about a Scottish nobleman and his wife who murder their king for his throne.

Senior pupils have been exploring physical theatre, portraying emotions and connecting lines and movement in a set that takes over different places around the entire school. "Macbeth will be a moving theatre experience where the audience will be moving around to witness the story unravel in steps.

A glimpse to the rehearsal

This play is scheduled for Wednesday 27 April. Unfortunately, parents are not permitted to enter the school due to current regulations. Please rest assured that we are looking for alternatives to share the outstanding work of our pupils and supporting staff.

Alejandro Montoya

Director of Performing Arts

This week the senior school celebrated the efforts of FOBISIA runners. Due to our pupils' hard work and dedication, Angelina Q achieved third place in the 5km race, and Mike C earned fourth place. Wellington College International Hangzhou is proud of these achievements and their dedication to being the best runners at our school.

Timothy Schulze

Head of PE

Please click here to tune into our Dukebox radio to enjoy various shows throughout the week.

Listen from 9:00-12:00 every weekday for "Marty James Morning Show", "The big yellow bus show" at 6:00, Baz's Motown Classics at 18:00, Dukebox Best Ever Song Show at 20:00 and the Rock Show at 22:00. Please click here for the full schedule.

Don't worry if you missed any of the live shows as you can access them all on our exclusive "Catch Up" service here. Click on the date and time of the show you missed and "Listen Again".

Please have a look at the some of the wonderful content being created by our pupils and staff available in our podcast section here.  

Martin Bailey

Dukebox Presenter