Top 12 FAQs | All you need to know about joining Wellington!
Selecting a school for your child is one of the most important decisions that you make as a family. Wellington College has gained a strong reputation around the world as an educational leader, providing a progressive and exciting academic programme that is supported by strong traditions developed throughout its 161-year history. This continues at Wellington College International Hangzhou, where pupils are supported by world-class teachers, state-of-the-art facilities and an environment that promotes a highly individual education, ensuring that all Wellingtonians fulfil their potential and are given every opportunity for success. Wellington believes in a holistic education that develops well-rounded children, and that means they provide a wide range of both academic and extra-curricular activities.
In addition to this, Wellington College International Hangzhou offers a wide range of community activities throughout the year, where parents have an opportunity to engage with the school and help make the environment more inclusive and caring for the children.
Below are 12 of the most frequently asked questions we receive.
Q1: What year levels are open for the 2020-2021 academic year? Does Wellington College International Hangzhou have a Senior School?
For the 2020-2021 academic year, Wellington College International Hangzhou will be enrolling pupils from Year 1 through Year 10, the first year of Senior School that commences the IGCSE programme.
From Year 10 onwards, Wellington College International Hangzhou pupils will begin their IGCSE journey, culminating in IGCSE exams at the end of Year 11. In Years 12 and 13, pupils will undertake A Levels.
Q2: What are your admissions standards?
Slide up to read more
In line with the admissions regulations for international schools in China, Wellington College International Hangzhou can only accept applications for pupils who meet certain criteria:
The child holds a foreign passport
The child holds a valid foreign permanent residency (green card)
The child holds Hong Kong, Taiwan or Macau residency
There are other circumstances where a child may be eligible, such as having a parent who hold a foreign passport or the child having studied abroad for a certain period of time. In certain cases, approval from the Hangzhou Education Bureau is required before a pupil can be admitted. To check if your child is eligible for admissions, please contact the Admissions Team directly through one of the channels listed at the end of this FAQ.
Wellington College International Hangzhou is a selective school which, in line with our holistic educational philosophy, aims to admit pupils with a wide range of skills and capabilities including those who can demonstrate academic ability, as well as an enthusiasm for arts, music, sports and service.
Other important characteristics include:
An international outlook and a desire to be a global citizen of the future
A willingness to work hard with a positive attitude towards learning
A desire to develop all Wellington Identities, to take full advantage of the opportunities on offer at Wellington and a commitment to making a positive contribution to the wider Wellington community
An aspiration to fulfill and live by the Wellington Values
Q3: Is there an assessment or interview?
The first step in joining the Wellington community is to submit an application through our online portal, OpenApply, by following this link: https://wcchi.openapply.cn/apply. After submitting their applications, pupils of all year levels applying to Wellington College International Hangzhou will be invited along with their parents to attend a 30-minute interview with members of the Admissions Committee. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, all interviews will be conducted online until further notice. This interview is a chance for the Admissions Committee to spend time getting to know the applicant’s parents, their perspective on the Wellington values and their aspirations for the child’s future. At Wellington College, we believe that the school and parents play a collaborative role in education. It is important to us to ensure that all parents who join the Wellington community will work together with the school to achieve positive outcomes for our pupils.
Applicants for Years 3 and above are required to undertake a Cognitive Ability Test (CAT4). The test is completed online, under the supervision of a member of the Admissions Committee, and takes one to two hours to complete. This assessment provides comprehensive data on a pupil’s verbal, non-verbal, spatial and quantitative abilities and informs the Admissions Committee as to whether your child is ready to access the Wellington College curriculum.
Q4: How can we book a campus tour?
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we are currently not offering onsite tours as per the regulations established by the Hangzhou Education Bureau. We are, however, excited to offer a 360° virtual tour of the campus by scanning the QR code below.
You may also learn more about life as a pupil at Wellington by watching the video below.
Click to watch the video above
Q5: Do you offer a bus service? What are the bus routes?
Yes. For the 2019-2020 academic year, Wellington offers 20 school bus routes with 61 pickup points across the majority of expatriate living areas in Hangzhou. We plan to optimize bus routes by adding more stops based on the needs of enrolled families for the 2020-2021 academic year. To view a map of the current bus routes, please visit our school website: https://www.wellingtoncollege.cn/hangzhou-international/school-life/services/school-bus/
Q6: What is the relationship between Wellington College International Hangzhou and Wellington College in England? Is the curriculum at Wellington in alignment with Wellington College International Shanghai?
Slide up to read more
Wellington College International Hangzhou and Wellington College in England hold a uniquely close relationship at all levels from governance to pupil and faculty exchanges. This relationship allows for an exchange of ideas and professional learning, and ensures that we uphold our Values, Identity and the highest quality of education.
Like Wellington College International Shanghai, the curriculum at Wellington College International Hangzhou is based on the National Curriculum of England and Wales, suitably enhanced to incorporate exciting elements from the International Primary Curriculum. We also recognise that the College is an international school with a multinational pupil body, and the needs and expectations of all pupils very considerably. Our curriculum is suitably tailored to meet the background and individual needs of our pupils, giving them a wide breadth of educational experience and academic depth.
Q7: Does Wellington provide a Mandarin Programme?
Though the language of the College and of the curriculum is English, we recognise the importance of Mandarin to our pupils and to their families. In all years, pupils are taught by Mandarin specialist teachers on a daily basis who can adapt to those taking their first steps in learning Chinese as well as those who may be bilingual or have parents for whom Mandarin is their first language. The Mandarin department works across the school, with specialists for each different age and phase of child development. In addition to supporting a love of learning of the Chinese language, the Mandarin department also works outside the formal classroom learning, offering a wide variety of Chinese cultural activities as part of the School Activities (SA) programme as well as organising celebrations of traditional Chinese festivals.
Q8: How much time is devoted to sport weekly?
Sport is an integral part of each pupil’s development, wellbeing and education. As such, our pupils engage in separate Physical Education and Swimming classes weekly. Through our SA programme, as well as Sports Days and other school sport competitions, our pupils enjoy access to our gymnasium, football pitch, 400-metres all-weather synthetic running track, basketball and badminton courts, and two swimming pools, including a 25-metre, six-lane competition pool.
Q9: What is your class size and the teacher to pupil ratio?
For the 2019-2020 academic year, we currently have 10-15 pupils in each class and expect no more than 24 per class for the 2020-2021 academic year. The teacher to pupil ratio is roughly 1:10.
Q10: If your Senior School has not yet opened, then how will pupils at Wellington College International Hangzhou be well-prepared to apply for the world’s leading colleges and universities?
While our Senior School at Wellington College International Hangzhou has not yet opened, we follow closely in the footsteps of Wellington College International Tianjin and Wellington College International Shanghai, both of which have demonstrated outstanding academic results. In the 2018-2019 academic year, 18% of Wellington College China pupils received acceptance to the world’s top 20 universities, and over 40% received acceptance to the world’s top 50 universities. We are confident that our pupils at Wellington College International Hangzhou will similarly earn places at some of the world’s most prestigious universities.
Q11: Do you offer financial assistance or scholarships?
Slide up to read more
We recognise and reward excellence by offering scholarships in the categories of music, sport and academics. Scholars play a significant role in the life of the college and, whatever their discipline, must show a high degree of ability in their chosen field and be able to demonstrate leadership in the encouragement of non-scholarship holding pupils. For the 2020-2021 academic year, we are introducing a range of academic scholarships that can result in significant or full reduction of tuition fees. For the most up-to-date scholarship information, please contact the Admissions Team.
The College also offers bursaries. Bursaries are awarded on a discretionary basis following rigorous and objective means testing. The level of financial support varies according to parental need, and therefore parents will be required to provide supporting documentation to assist in their application. All bursary awards are confidential, subject to annual review of parental means and may be varied depending on changing parental circumstances.
Q12: What type of community events do you have?
Slide up to read more
A strong sense of community forms the foundation for all that we do at Wellington. In addition to school events such as our annual winter performance, Wellington is proud to be an active member of the greater Hangzhou community. In November 2019, Wellington College International Hangzhou hosted its inaugural Wellington Mixer, following in the traditions of Wellington College in England by providing additional opportunities for members of the Wellington community to interact outside of formal school events. Our future mixer events will be themed and provide a range of different social and formal outlets for the Wellington community. Examples of potential upcoming themes include career and university guidance and opportunities for Wellington pupils, international food and beverage tastings for parents, sporting mixers, or tourism and culture related trips within Hangzhou.
Wellington College Hangzhou is also a proud host of the Festival of Education, or EdFest, hosted annually at each of the Wellington College China campuses. EdFest provides an opportunity for debates about education and the place it has in a rapidly changing world. Education’s disciplines and expectations can no longer be taken for granted and are being revisited, revised and renewed. The significance that Chinese culture places on learning means that the city is likely to become pivotal in the reshaping of world education in the 21st century.
Our Admissions Team is always available to provide advice and assistance. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us via one of the channels listed below.
Phone:
+(86-571) 8239 6366
+(86) 136 1653 0633
WeChat:
Email: admissions.wcih@wellingtoncollege.cn
Wellington College International Hangzhou
Wellington College International Hangzhou officially opened its doors to pupils in September 2018, offering a world-class international education for children of expatriate families from the ages of 2 to 18. In Pre-Prep and Prep-School, the College follows the English National Curriculum, which is enhanced through the cross-curricula International Primary Curriculum. In Senior School, pupils will complete the IGCSE and then follow the A Level Programme. As with all Wellington College schools, the Wellington Values and Identities form the core of the holistic education provided by Wellington College International Hangzhou.
To submit an online Enquiry Form