The Master's End of Year Letter

Dear parents

The end of the first term of any school year is always an important way station. This is, of course, our 10th anniversary year, and we are already almost at the halfway point of this landmark in our history. A good proportion of the year is behind us, and once we return in January, the Spring Festival will almost be upon us. The river is yet to freeze, but I do not doubt that this is only a matter of a few short weeks away. Pupils and staff – and no doubt, parents too – deserve a good break after the sustained intensity of the past term.

10th Anniversary Year Celebrations

We are in our 16th week of the term and will have had 74 days in school by the end of school on Friday afternoon. In that time, we have achieved a great deal. In the summer, our examination candidates once again showed how far we have come as an academic institution. At A Level and IGCSE, the percentage of A* grades (51% at A Level and 56% at IGCSE) meant we were the top-performing Wellington school in the world. Hard on the heels of the successful university destinations in 2021, our current crop of year 13 pupils is busy finalising applications. Some 140 individual applications have already been sent off, and there are more to follow in the next few weeks, among them several to the world’s leading universities.

2021 EPQ Marketplace Event

The achievements of each successive generation of Wellingtonians help fuel the ambition and drive of our younger pupils, in turn further supporting our restless drive for improvement. Therefore, I was pleased to see the impressive progress and attainment data for pupils across the school in the recent reporting cycle. Every child should feel that they can contribute to our learning community, and by seizing the opportunities available in each year group, young people can make tremendous progress.

Outside the classroom, Wellingtonians have also been busy. Service projects – working on behalf of others – are increasingly seen as integral to an education at the school. I could not be more delighted. Our pupils, privileged as they are to attend a school such as ours, should recognise their responsibility to others in the wider Tianjin community (and indeed, worldwide) by volunteering their time, energy and ability to projects designed to make the lives of others better.

I wrote recently about the work of our International Duke of Edinburgh participants, as well as those in the Eric Liddell project and the generosity of those who contributed to our breast cancer appeal in October and Movember last month. These are wonderful, selfless acts and reflect a growing understanding across our community of what it means to be a Wellingtonian. Our values of responsibility, respect and kindness have rarely been on display more strongly than among those who have used their own gifts to help others.

Pink Day in October raising 34,000RMB for local breast cancer charities

Furthermore, the term has been rich in sport, art, music, and drama. There have been 23 sporting fixtures, victories in ISCOT football and volleyball, and further national success for our golf scholars Dana and Sunny.

In music, we had two lunchtime concerts and a series of memorable shows and concerts across the school: few who saw them will soon forget the marvellous Nest Christmas show nor the Disney-inspired Junior School concert.

The Autumn Harvest art exhibition, back in September, saw some outstanding work from pupils from all age groups. The Mid-Autumn celebrations included a Chinese language drama show, Li Bai fetched the moon from the water, which showed how assured our young actors and backstage crew have become in a very short space of time.

The school has also won further awards, notably placed 31st nationally - and best in Tianjin - in the recent Xinhua Net Education Forum’s Top 100 International Schools in China survey. In October, we were recognised as one of China’s top 10 schools in the Kinglead 2020 China International Schools ranking for Chinese Cultural Characteristics. We are delighted to receive such approbation, reflecting as it does the hard work of our teachers and pupils in establishing such a robust learning environment.

“2021 China International Education Index Word-of-Mouth Competitive School” Award

The next term looks equally busy. We will begin the process of our CIS self-study, with an accreditation visit scheduled for the end of November 2022. Parents will be heavily involved as the CIS process requires community-wide contributions, both in survey evidence and membership of the various working parties we will need to establish for our report. Of course, we also have our Annual Review next term (10/11th March), in which I hope to be able to show our visitors a school firmly on the road to excellence. Thank you to all those parents who have taken the time to complete the online survey; it is invaluable as supporting material for the forthcoming review. Towards the end of March, you will once again be able to enjoy a school musical, with this year’s production of The Wizard of Oz already underway in the form of auditions and preliminary rehearsals.

Of course, there is an ever-present threat of the lingering global pandemic. Thankfully, we have continued to remain safe in our communities here in Tianjin, but we need to exercise on-going caution. I would like to include a reminder from the Bursar about travel and health in the upcoming holiday:

Finally, you are advised not to leave Tianjin or visit any pandemic areas or go abroad unless absolutely necessary. During the holiday, please make sure you and your child have the proper protection when you go to public places and avoid any medium or high-risk areas. Please also note that the school’s entrance policy may need to be adjusted according to the latest government policy if circumstances change over the holiday period.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy, peaceful holiday.

Best wishes

Julian Jeffrey

EXECUTIVE MASTER