Festival of Education at Wellington Tianjin

Wellington College in Tianjin recently organized The Festival of Education, the first of its kind in China, attracting large numbers of students, parents and friends of the College. Over two days, Friday, 8th March and Saturday, 9th March, the Festival celebrated Wellington’s Eight Aptitudes model of education through a wide array of studies and activities. The overriding spirit of Anglo-Chinese partnership, the inspiration behind the Festival, was probably best illustrated by two international footballers, Carlton Palmer, capped eighteen times for England, and local favourite, Genwei Wu, who represented China in the 2002 World Cup finals, joining together in a series of highly-popular coaching clinics. There were also coaching sessions in polo, archery, fencing and swimming. Students enjoyed themselves in such diverse pursuits as ‘Discovering Science through a Cycle’, mural painting, a comedy workshop, calligraphy, gourd painting, yoga and, for those with a DIY interest, designing and creating a modern living room. Many of the College’s students displayed their skills in ballet, street dancing and a whole array of folk dances. The Tianjin Conservatory of Music was also fully involved and sent two of its most gifted teacher-performers, Kang Jian and Xu Ye, to put the students through their paces in the guitar and drums respectively. Alongside the workshops and clinics were a series of educational presentations. There was a fittingly creative and impressive ‘closing ceremony’ to the Festival, as parents and students gathered in the Seldon Theatre to enjoy dance and music performances only rehearsed in the immediate lead up to the event, and a virtuoso piano recital by Korean pianist, Ms Sonja Park.