Celebrating 30 years of growth with Pudong, Shanghai
On 18 April 1990, the Party Central Committee and the State Council announced the official development and opening-up of Pudong, Shanghai. It was hoped that Pudong's development would help Shanghai become an internationally recognised economic, financial and commercial centre, and prompt new economic development in cities and regions within the Yangtze Delta and further throughout the Yangtze River Basin.
Photo by：Jianliang Yao
30 years on and we find ourselves living in a new Pudong that is entirely unrecognisable from its 90s self. Thanks to three decades of hard work and numerous advances in modern construction, engineering and architectural methods, Pudong is now an integral part of the sleek, safe and stylish Shanghai of 2020.
The last 30 years have not only been the golden age of development in Pudong, but also in Shanghai and China as a whole.
Wellington College China is privileged to have witnessed and contributed to Pudong’s transformation over the last decade. It has been almost 10 years since the Shanghai Lujiazui Group invited Wellington College China to visit the area and consider opening schools in Shanghai. At this time the Qiantan district in Pudong was still one of the few underdeveloped districts within the Middle Ring vicinity in Shanghai. Wellington College China recognised the great potential of Qiantan as an area for development, ultimately deciding to put down roots in the area.
Pudong lies adjacent to the Shanghai World Expo-Binjiang area and opposite of the Xuhui-Binjiang area. It is a key development area in Shanghai’s Thirteenth Five-Year Plan. In 2012, Shanghai confirmed Qiantan’s development plan and positioned it as the 'second Lujiazui' – a world-class central business district that, unlike the purely business-orientated Lujiazui, is home to a range of facilities for business, commercial, residential, educational, medical and cultural use and is essentially a 'Lujiazui 2.0'.
Located in the centre of Qiantan, Wellington College International Shanghai, Huili School Shanghai and Huili Nursery Shanghai are now fulfilling their commitments to the Qiantan community in Pudong. We strive to provide excellent international holistic education and aspire to uncover more of Qiantan’s hidden potential.
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”
The history of Wellington College China in the Shanghai Pudong New Area
Wellington College China remains closely connected to its partner, Wellington College in England. This place of progressive learning was founded by Queen Victoria in 1859 as a means of honouring and remembering Britain's greatest military leader of the age, Arthur Wellesley, The Duke of Wellington. This royal connection remains strong, and has prompted Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the Royal Family to visit throughout the years.
Queen Elizabeth II visits Wellington College in England in 2009 during the school’s 150th anniversary celebrations
Wellington College China takes the fundamental values and principles from its British counterpart. Courage, respect, integrity, kindness, responsibility – these are the values that we seek to instil in each of our pupils through our model of progressive, holistic education. This was the philosophy in place when Wellington College International Tianjin broke ground in 2009, and it remains at the core of the entire organisation's identity today.
In 2012, Wellington College China began its development journey in Shanghai.
Wellington College
International Shanghai Successfully
Opened
Huili was launched as Wellington College China’s bilingual education brand
Huili Nursery Shanghai successfully opened
Huili was launched as Wellington College China’s bilingual education brand
Huili School Shanghai successfully opened
Extraordinary moments at Wellington College Shanghai
December 2013
Shanghai Lujiazui Group and Wellington College in England Strategic Partnership Signing Ceremony took place.
April 2016
Wellington College China welcomed Mr Peter Mallinson, Chair of Governors, from Wellington College in England for his first visit to our campus in Shanghai.
July 2016
Ms Joy Qiao, Founder and Chair of Governors of Wellington College China, met with the 9th Duke of Wellington.
September 2016
Ms Anna Shotbolt, First Secretary and Head of Education and Skills at the Department for International Trade at the British Embassy in Beijing, visited Wellington College International Shanghai.
November 2016
Mr Weng Zu Liang, Party Secretary of Commission of Pudong New Area, met with Wellington College China’s Governors.
February 2018
Two of our young Wellingtonians were inspired by presenting their science projects to the Prime Minister Theresa May (third from the left). This was followed by a group photo together with Ms Joy Qiao (third from the right), Founder and Chair of Governors of Wellington College China.
June 2018
Ms Helen Kavanagh (third from the left), Chief Executive Officer of Wellington College China, attended the education industry’s roundtable event in the presence of HRH The Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward (sixth from the left) and other Chinese business leaders.
September 2018
The Memorandum of Understanding Signing Ceremony between Huili Institute of Learning and Durham University was held. Both organisations have started designing professional learning solutions for international bilingual teachers and school leadership teams.
The founding members who brought the Wellington Way of education to Pudong
Established more than a decade ago, the growing number of schools in the Wellington College China have benefitted from the dedication, experience and expertise of many of our founding staff members. These educators have helped shape not only the curriculumand daily educational provision of Wellington College China's schools, but also their atmosphere and ethos, creating the ideal environment for holistic education to thrive.
Meet some of our founding members
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Mr Adam Shaw
Wellington College International Shanghai
Director of Pupil Services
Joined March 2014
The challenges of the start-up year were hugely stimulating, rewarding and indeed exhausting and I am very proud to have played a role in building our community. In addition, being part of the growth and development of the College itself has taught me a great deal and brought a level of professional fulfilment that has, in many ways, surpassed my expectations.
Mr Robert Hicks and Ms Helena Hicks
Wellington College International Shanghai
Director of Academic Systems & Director of Chinese Studies
Joined August 2014
As husband and wife, moving from teaching in established schools in the UK to a brand-new school in Shanghai was a daunting experience. Leaving family and friends behind was especially difficult, but it is amazing how quickly we found a new ‘family’ amongst the incredibly friendly and hard-working staff who came with us. We have seen Wellington grow in size and flourish over the last six years, with many of those new friends moving on, new ones joining and even a few returning – but that amazing feeling of being part of a big family has never gone away.
Ms Sherry Xiao
Subject Leader Foreign Language Chinese – Senior School
Joined August 2014
Throughout my six years of working at Wellington, pride and gratitude are the most frequent emotions I have felt. It is the greatest pleasure to see our pupils grow both academically and personally. I have always felt like I am part of a welcoming and caring family,something that every newcomer is also made to feel.
Wellington College International Shanghai has become a great showcase for what is possible when pupils, parents and teachers work together to deliver outstanding holistic education that pupils genuinely enjoy.
Ms Nicola Street
Huili Nursery Shanghai
Curriculum Co-ordinator
Joined Wellington College International Shanghai in August 2014
I came to Shanghai in 2014, when Wellington College International Shanghai opened, as Year 1 teacher. Following the professional development programme within the Wellington College China group, I'm now working at Huili Nurseary Shanghai as Curriculum Co-ordinator. It has been great to see how the academic and non-academic teams have grown so much in the past 6 years and I feel so lucky to be working with a team of like-minded, passionate and forward thinking educators.
Ms Vanessa Szucs-Hussain
Huili Nursery Shanghai
Head of Early Years
Joined August 2015
There is an old English proverb: 'Mighty oaks from little acorns grow'. Since opening in 2016, I have had the privilege to experience the nursery grow and evolve into a place where so many people feel a sense of belonging with strong partnerships forming the foundations of our success. I am delighted that our little acorn has grown to be healthy and mighty and one which will hopefully continue to mature and stand proud amongst the Shanghai educational landscape for many years to come.
Ms Yuki Gong
Huili Nursery Shanghai
Deputy Head of Early Years
Joined December 2015
Through hard work and dedication, Huili Nursery Shanghai has fulfilled the promise made to our parents during our opening seminar – we truly combine the best of British holistic education with the strengths of a traditional Chinese education. We care deeply about our pupils’ learning, while promoting the Huili values of kindness, courage, integrity, respect and responsibility. Furthermore,we provide excellent bilingual education for families in China who want their children to be ready for the interconnected nature of the world we live in, by helping them become the most effective and open-minded learners they can be.
Ms Stella Zhou
Huili School Shanghai
Principal
Joined January 2017
Huili School Shanghai was established in 2018 as the first bilingual school under Wellington College China. I am very honoured that I could participate in the preparations for the opening of the School as its founding principal.
In line with the pace of development of the Qiantan district, construction of Huili School Shanghai was completed following a well-coordinated and comprehensive plan, and from that point onward, the School has continued to develop and flourish.
We hope that Huili School Shanghai will grow at the same pace with the Pudong area and the two will stride forward with grace and splendidness together.
Ms Laura Ge
Huili School Shanghai
Head of Junior High
Joined August 2017
As a ‘new Shanghainese’ who came to the city in 2008, I witnessed therapid development of Pudong during the past decade.
To date, the Lujiazui district has grown to be a financial district comparable with the United States' Wall Street. It is but beyond imagination that Huili School Shanghai would witness the development and rising of Qiantan as the 'second Lujiazui' in Shanghai. The School would be one of those recording and paying tribute to the growth journey of Qiantan. As a founding member of the leadership team of Huili School Shanghai, I feel very honoured and enchanted.
Ms Penny Mulholland
Huili School Shanghai
Deputy Head Pastoral
Joined August 2018
Within a few weeks of joining Huili School, I already felt part of a warm, welcoming family. After almost two years, we have continued to strengthen our relationships with pupils and their families, despite the recent challenges of isolation. Sharing a common goal: to work together to shape the future of our pupils as Chinese citizens with a global understanding.
A lot of Wellington College China’s success in Pudong can be attributed to the hard work and dedication of our founding members. We also want to extend our gratitude to all other members of the diverse Wellington family – our partners, parents and pupils who grew with us – for their ongoing contributions to our success.
The past decade has seen the Pudong New Area begin to thrive. In the same amount of time, Wellington College China has founded several Wellington schools, Huili schools and Huili nurseries in Tianjin, Shanghai and Hangzhou. Looking forward, we will be establishing two new Huili schools in Nantong and Jiashan that will open in September 2022. Wellington College China strives to provide excellent international holistic education to its pupils and hopes to further contribute to China’s urban development as a leader in the country’s education industry.
Despite the inherent difficulties of recent months, our year 13 pupils have still managed to distinguish themselves and attract the attention of world-leading universities and colleges around the world. Those from our Tianjin and Shanghai Colleges have received a total of nearly 200 offers from several world-renowned universities. Nearly 40% of pupils received offers from universities ranked among the top 10 in the world.
The Shanghai Pudong New Area has grown considerably over the last 30 years. Pudong has provided great support to Wellington College China in many areas including land and teaching resources for nearly 10 years. At the same time, Wellington College China has been able to help the area develop and grow as a key part of the outstanding international education sector in Shanghai. Wellington College China hopes to continue its own development journey alongside Pudong in the coming decades and looks forward to celebrating more outstanding successes together.