Wellington College England was founded by Queen Victoria in 1859 as a national monument to Great Britain’s most renowned military figure, the Duke of Wellington.  Since its foundation, Wellington College has been a household name in the UK for its academic excellence and successful management. Wellington international family holds all its member schools to the same rigorous standards as Wellington College UK and conducts rigorous annual reviews to ensure that the teaching standards of the teachers, academic performance of the pupils, and managerial skills of the leadership team are at the top of the world. This year, Wellington College Education (China) - Hangzhou once again achieved excellent results in the Wellington global annual review. 

Please read the message below from Kathryn Richardson, Master of Wellington College Education (China) - Hangzhou and join us in being proud of our achievements. 

Last week we completed the Annual Review of our Wellington College Education (China) - Hangzhou campus. We welcomed six visitors. From Wellington College UK, the Master from Wellington College Bangkok and one visitor from our Institute of Learning to assess how well we are progressing as a school. The team reviewed nine areas of the school:  

Vision, mission and ethos

Academic and other achievements

Personal development, wellbeing and safety

Collaboration and integration

Teaching and learning

Curriculum and assessment

Boarding provision

Staff development and support

Leadership and management

The Annual Review team has set criteria to assess us against and make overall recommendations. We were thrilled with the feedback from the team, and we are incredibly proud of the progress we are making as a school. The team recognised that everyone in the Wellington College Education (China) - Hangzhou community had a strong commitment to the school and its values. They said our vision for your children was excellent, and it was embedded everywhere by everyone! The team were extremely impressed with the high expectations set by all staff and recognised that the pupils were making rapid progress. The team also commended the school on our external exams, stating that the results were outstanding!  

They understood personal development and wellbeing to be a real strength of the school. They found the processes and policies we have in place were thoroughly excellent and the pupils' development, because of this, was remarkable. In Hiba, the team were impressed with the co-teaching model and stated it was utterly exceptional!  

Relationships between staff and pupils right across the campus were observed to be excellent, and the team said that it was evident that everything we do is about the pupils and their progress. The clear drive for excellence came shining through across the entirety of the week.  

During the visit, the boarding house was rigorously assessed by Wellington College UK. Rachel Loaring, Head of Year 9 at Wellington College UK, said the provision and facilities were excellent across the board and believed it was a 'real pearl in our crown'. 

At the end of this tremendously busy week, and in the final meeting with the Annual Review team, I was delighted to hear that the continuing hard work, dedication and commitment of the whole team had been recognised. I am so proud of the journey we have been on, and I am honoured to have led such an inspirational team of talented staff over the last four years. I will leave you with one of my favourite quotes from a member of the Annual Review team, who said, 

"In 10 to 15 years, Wellington College Education (China) - Hangzhou will be having an impact on the world!" 

Chris Woolf 

International Director, Wellington College International

“The most impressive thing during the AR for me is always meeting the students, they concluded by telling me that they like the way education is done here, and the annual review team completely endorse that view.  The real highlight for me is being able to celebrate with the students and the staff and the leaders here in Hangzhou, the amazing provision that they provide, the students are a real credit to the school, their academic outcomes are absolutely remarkable.  It’s an absolutely wonderful experience, and it’s been a real privilege to be here.” 

Christopher Nicholls 

Master, Wellington College Bangkok

“I was here for the opening of the school in 2018 and I haven't been back since, so it's really wonderful to see the big empty school that I saw when I first came now full of people, full of enjoyment of life and learning.   Whenever you visit a good or excellent school, one of the most impressive things is the students. From the first moment that we walked into the campus, you could tell straight away that those are comfortable, happy, mature independent-minded young people. Everything I've seen since has just backed that conclusion up. What I see in the classrooms across everywhere that I've visited is students doing good learning, doing good work with good relationships with each other, with excellent teachers who understand what they need to make progress in a happy environment.” 

Click here to learn more about Wellington College International Hangzhou