Wellington College China Launches its 5th Festival of Education

Wellington College China launched its annual Festival of Education at its Tianjin campus. The school brought together 28 thought leaders in progressive education and over 300 attendees to take part in a day of stimulating and informative talks, panel discussions and workshops. Wellington College China's Festival of Education is one of China's leading forums for educators, parents and general enthusiasts who seek insights on everything from career development to cutting-edge theories and new methodologies.

Tianjin EdFest Speakers gathered

Interpreting the Future of Education

"This marks the fifth year that we have run the Festival here at Wellington College China and it is an important milestone," Festival Director Paul Rogers says. "Last year, we cancelled this annual event to protect the community and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. 2020 presented many challenges to the education industry across the globe, and being able to resume the Festival in 2021 was not only a powerful expression of optimism about the state of education, but it was also a chance to think seriously about its future. Additionally, it gave us an opportunity to present an online virtual component of our Festival, which is taking place from 18 - 23 April. This allows a huge audience from around the world to participate."

Paul Rogers, Festival Director

The theme of this year's Festival was 'Interpreting the Future of Education.' Speakers and attendees explored this theme through five key strands: Future Schools, Early Years Education, Bilingualism, Wellbeing and Mental Health.

The Festival commenced with a keynote address by Dianjun Wang, Principal of Tsinghua University High School, and a speech by Wellington College China Founder and Chair of Governors Joy Qiao remarked, "This is the century when East meets West. At Wellington China, we hope to educate future global leaders who are natural bridges between China and the rest of the world, fostering deeper understanding and collaboration. This is becoming all the more important, given the increasing challenges in international relations." 

Joy Qiao, Wellington College China Founder and Chairman

Dianjun Wang, Principal of Tsinghua University High School

New horizons in wellbeing and mental health

The Wellbeing and Mental Health strands figured prominently in the day's events. For instance, Sophie Zhang, The Tianjin Juilliard School's Administrative Director of Pre-College led an insightful discussion on why art and music education are important in promoting wellbeing. Tianjin Experimental High School Principal Jingwu Yang explored how to build a comprehensive mental health model for secondary school students.

Yet the discussions were by no means limited to just academics and the arts. Christy Cao, Chair of Powerhouse Gym China talked with attendees about the benefits of physical education on mental health. Nor did presenters limit themselves to the wellbeing and mental health of our pupils. Bella Lin, a trainer in Parent Effectiveness, offered some invaluable advice on managing anxieties around being a parent.  

Christy Cao, Chair of Powerhouse Gym China

Xueqin Jiang, Researcher at Harvard Graduate School of Education Global Education Innovation Initiative

The future is now

This year's roster featured more Chinese-speaking presenters, which enabled Wellington to bring these expert insights to a wider, more multicultural audience within China. Even more remarkable, however, has been the Festival's ability to reach an audience that is unable to attend in person. For the first time, Wellington is hosting a Virtual Festival every afternoon from 18 - 23 April. This online event featured talks with world-renowned educators like Ian Warwick, Founder of London Gifted & Talented; researchers like Sir John Jones of Lancaster University; and even television personalities like Johnny Ball, who popularised maths and science for a generation of children in the UK.

Says Paul Rogers, "By employing the same remote learning technology that so many educators had to use throughout most of 2020, we have been able to connect with a wider international audience from within and outside of China. Bringing a portion of the Festival online is an innovation that we will continue to explore in the coming years."

Julian Jeffrey, Master of Wellington College Tianjin, remarked, “It is an absolute thrill to see so many people come to this live event for the Wellington College China Festival of Education. The Festival aims to attract speakers and audiences from across the world of learning, from professional educators and researchers to parents and students. Those most heavily invested in the future of education can, in this way, come together to share ideas about the issues that matter to them and their children.”

Julian Jeffrey, Master, Wellington College Tianjin

Building on traditions

The Wellington College China Festival of Education has its origins in the Festival of Education at Wellington College in England, which is now recognised as a benchmark international educational event. Since its inauguration in October 2015, the China Festival has enjoyed similar success in attracting large numbers of participants to consider and reflect on the most relevant and important questions facing modern education. 

After the first live instalment of this annual event, the 2021 Festival of Education will continue with live events on 24 and 25 April at Wellington College China's Shanghai and Hangzhou campuses, respectively as well as online virtual events from 18 - 23 April.

Dates and Times

Live Events

Saturday 24th April – Shanghai

Sunday 25th April – Hangzhou

Scan the QR code to book your tickets now!

Virtual Events

Sunday to Friday 18th – 23rd April 

Open to all interested parties free of charge

Scan the QR code to 

book your virtual tickets now!