We Are Wellington | Strong Motivation and Support

I joined Wellington College in year 5, and my choice to attend Wellington extended beyond the prestigious nature of the school itself. We chose the College based upon their student development, both academic and personal, which was a  top priority for us, and also because of its established reputation, both in China and across the world. So, throughout my time at Wellington, I have always felt encouraged and given the means to explore subjects to levels beyond the standard curriculum. I found that Wellington’s provisions and resources for students who wish to do so are really second to none. 

Q3:

Looking back at the past 9 years of your journey at Wellington College, I am pretty sure that the school has done so much to make you the person you are today. How was your experience with Wellington College International Tianjin and how helpful was it for your studies?

The structure of teaching at Wellington places the students at the centre of learning. The classes are small and engaging, which gives rise to genuine debate and conversations, something that is encouraged in every lesson. You always find someone with differing opinions to yours, and this, I believe, forces you to consider problems from multiple perspectives - something that I found incredibly useful in the sciences. It is not a huge school, which allows you to really get to know both other teachers and the student body. I think this creates a sense of familiarity and community that’s quite unique to Wellington in Tianjin. For this reason, I feel that my success, so to say, has been possible because of the constant support and encouragement that I have received from the members of the community, and most importantly, my teachers, who never hesitated to go above and beyond in assisting my learning.

Every single one of my teachers has encouraged me to strive for things I’ve always considered as beyond my abilities. They have done a great deal to help me to achieve my goals, whether it was to help me arrange the resources that I needed to conduct my own research projects, or just making the classes as engaging as possible.

It is not only the teachers that I have classes with that have helped me. For instance, the university guidance team helped me to navigate every step of the application process and supported me through the unfamiliar online interview system which was introduced as a result of the COVID-19 situation. With regards to that, a particularly memorable moment was when two members of the university guidance team stayed in school until very late in the evening during my interviews to make sure that everything went smoothly. So, these more personal moments I feel have certainly helped me, and I am immensely grateful.

My parents have always encouraged me to be curious and think perceptively, giving me many opportunities to do so throughout my life. My father is a biologist and works in a university, so I guess it is natural that I have chosen the sciences as an academic field. I have never been forced down this route, though, and I have always been given leverage by them to pursue interests of my choosing. I think this has encouraged me to develop a more well-rounded world view and has motivated me to look beyond the confines of my school curricula, or sciences, and explore things like the humanities as well.

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to write part of a literature review for the University of Queensland when I was in year 12, which I felt opened my mind to the possibilities of a career in the life sciences, as well some of the rigours and requirements behind it. The process of reviewing the developments of the academics in the field prompted me to conduct a research project of my own of a similar nature in the school, as part of my EPQ, which is a British qualification designed to give students a chance to undertake genuine research whilst still at school. I carried out an enquiry into metabolic disorders and taste, which I would describe as potentially my greatest achievement in the school, as I planned and conducted my research project independently, working well beyond the requirements of a regular A Level course.

I chose to take maths, chemistry, biology and history as my A-levels, which I believe to be all-important disciplines, and I don’t really have a clear favourite. Although I’ve chosen to pursue the sciences in higher education, something I would say that has helped me immensely in this journey is history, not only because of my personal interest in it but also because I think it teaches transferrable skills that are indispensable for any scientist. History, as a discipline, I feel, emphasizes analysis and critical evaluation of information, both key skills fundamental to scientific research. Without the ability to accurately scrutinize assumptions, scientists may use flawed premises as the basis for new research.

A fond memory I have of history is when our history teacher Mrs. Gater took us on a trip to Europe, back in Year 10. I felt her explanations of the historical context behind the places we visited gave me a more holistic view of everything around me. I guess, in a less academic sense, studying history has given me cultural capital, allowing me to contextualize the world around me, which I consider especially important for those of us who are going to be studying abroad in new cultures and meeting all types of new people.

In my downtime, I usually play tennis and badminton recreationally because I think it’s very important to have a good work/life balance.  I also used to play the piano when I was younger. I do these activities purely for personal enjoyment, and not for competitions or anything, and I don’t think I do them at a very high level.

I feel immensely grateful for the offer, not just because I‘ve been given the chance to pursue an area that I have passion for at an institution that has previously educated some of the greatest minds of the field, such as Professor Dorothy Hodgkin, who inspired me. I also feel thankful for all the support I’ve received from everyone around me. As for ‘why’, I think that I have a genuine passion for my chosen subjects and that I have worked immensely hard to secure a place. I could not have achieved it single-handedly, though, and I owe a lot to the support I have received from my teachers, family and peers.

I believe medicine and health care to be some of the major areas of future global development, which is something that’s only been highlighted by the events of the past year. So I think at this point, I’m not quite sure yet, I want to be involved in this field, and to see it expand and develop.

My advice would be to not take a linear approach to learning. I think the best way to succeed in academics is really to look beyond the textbook and acquire unique experiences and knowledge; really identify your interests at a young age, and start to look beyond the syllabus, beyond the textbook levels, to  show that you’re interested in something.

Firstly, I want to thank my parents, who have worked tirelessly to provide me with the best opportunities possible. They have been nothing but supportive of me in all my endeavours, both in and outside of the classroom. I would also like to thank all the teachers at school who have given me so much in this journey, such as Mr. Iddison, Mrs. Milovanovic and Mr. Dentico of the science department, whose enthusiasm for the sciences gave me, as well as many of my peers, the determination to pursue a future in STEM. The history department for broadening my horizons, Ms. Rogic, Mr. Traber and Mr. Ogando of the maths department for allowing me to complete my maths A-level in one year; and Ms Chapman, who was my EPQ coordinator, for giving me the opportunity to undertake an independent project in a field that I  have such passion for, as well as reading endless drafts of my personal statement. And finally, the university guidance team, for guiding me through every aspect of this difficult process. I would also like to thank all of my friends at the school who  believed in me and created such a friendly environment, always finding ways to cheer me up when things didn’t  exactly go  according to plan, and even once again reading through endless new drafts of my personal statement and doing mock interviews with me. So, I guess, everyone, thank you truly, from the bottom of my heart for your unwavering belief and support.  I think the best is yet to come.

Eric has done a great job. He has achieved and developed holistically during his years at Wellington College Tianjin. I am proud of his academic excellence and his involvement and contribution to the school’s academic societies, service commitments, sports and cultural events. I am very pleased that his learning capacity and good character have been recognized by the University of Oxford.

I can say without any reservation, that the school endeavours to realize its vision and mission of education. Teachers treat every student as an individual, equally emphasizing equity and effectiveness in both class teaching and extra-curriculum activities. They act as role models to inspire pupils to become intellectual, independent, individual and inclusive.

Mr. Jeffrey once said that education is a journey, and that journey should benefit the traveller. I think Mr. Jeffrey and the school, did this. Since my child embarked on this journey together with his teachers and schoolmates, I have witnessed them stand together through thick and thin, sharing sadness and joy. In this small but close community, this journey is a process where teachers and students influence, encourage, respect and enrich each other.

Parenting and education are not easy tasks, especially for parents who have chosen the path of international education for their children. This path is relatively less travelled; hence there are fewer precedents and less experience to draw lessons from. It is harder to access resources, and there are constantly changing educational environments and conditions affected by multiple factors. However, I feel very fortunate to have people to rely on, such as my husband, my own parents, and Eric’s wonderful uncles, aunts and cousins. I also want to thank the parents of the Wellington College for sharing, supporting and loving us.

In her book “Seeing off”, the Chinese writer Long Yingtai said, “I realized that so-called parenting only means that you are destined to see him walk away from you, further and further. You stand on this side of the road, and see his figure gradually disappearing at the turning of the path, and his back shadow is telling you: do not chase!”

But Wellington has made me believe that it is not a mother’s destiny to send her child off to another place, even if it is an elite university; it is rather to embrace a new way to look at things. In a diversified world, success is not measured simply by academic excellence; the measuring merits are multi-dimensional. So, in Wellington, every child is treated as a unique individual, and pupils and parents broaden their vision. There is no such phenomenon as so-called “involution”. Pupils are shown a bigger world, and they develop diversified interests and talents. There is no ineffective internal fighting and vicious competition, but rather strong peer support and friendly competition. This type of learning ecology is a blessing to both students and parents.