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Wellington College – A 21 st Century Education?. Empowering the individual to succeed and flourish with the aim of becoming a “world class” school. Academic Ethos and Objectives.
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Wellington College – A 21st Century Education? Empowering the individual to succeed and flourish with the aim of becoming a “world class” school
Academic Ethos and Objectives • The academic life of Wellington College is vibrant, demanding and progressive. We are proud of our teachers and ambitious for our pupils. Our record is strong, and our endeavours are guided by the core belief that acquiring a love of learning is vital to leading a personally fulfilled, socially engaged and professionally successful life. • With that in mind, our principal objectives are: • to inspire curiosity, creativity and compassion in our pupils, • to enrich their lives with the enjoyment and understanding of their global scientific, linguistic and cultural heritage, and • to empower our pupils with the knowledge, skills and independence of mind that will make them effective and responsible leaders of they world they will inherit. • Everything that we do is directed towards these aims and tested against them. We have high expectations of ourselves and of our pupils; and we insist that working hard and working intelligently must always be the basis of our success. We also know that learning is most rewarding in a community that is lively, co-operative, critical and, fundamentally, curious. To be such a community is our ultimate and perpetual challenge.
Independent Learning • Independent learning is a primary goal both inside and outside class. Teachers should plan lessons that encourage pupils to take an active role in constructing their knowledge, skills, attitudes and understanding. This includes setting research tasks, collaborative projects and problem solving challenges. Pupils should be encouraged to think for themselves, ask questions and come to answers through discussion and reflection. Lessons should include opportunities for pupils to lead discussion, work together and work independently; they should never be structured solely around the delivery of material by the teacher. • Within the wide range of teaching styles that are appropriate to any subject, all teachers should ensure that their lessons include: • a mixture of effort by both the teacher and the pupils • opportunities for pupils to speak and respond both to the teacher and to each other • time for pupils to write notes or consolidate discussion in written form • varied presentational styles and activities in order to keep lessons stimulating • differentiated strategies suited to different learning needs and styles • effective use of the resources available including books, handouts, projections, displays, AV and IT equipment, etc. • Work outside lessons should wherever possible be genuinely preparatory. While it is vital that some preps be used to consolidate learning acquired in class, some preps should also be designed to make pupils think ahead by reading material in advance, researching topics to come and considering leading questions before class discussions. Prep should never be set for its own sake and should always be set with clear instructions, expectations and deadlines.
The IB Learner Profile • As an IB World School, Wellington believes that the ideal learner (in all academic programmes offered by the College) will be • inquirers • knowledgeable • thinkers • communicators • principled • open-minded • caring • risk-takers • balanced • Reflective • Teacher should encourage pupils to consider themselves in light of the learner profile and should build opportunities for developing its attributes into their lessons. Teachers should also aspire to modelling the learner profile in their own intellectual lives.
Curriculum • Wellington's curriculum is firmly grounded in our commitment to developing the full range of every pupil's inherent aptitudes: • Linguistic and Logical • Personal and Social • Cultural and Physical • Moral and Spiritual • Within the context of our rich and stimulating extra-curricular, cultural and sporting provision, our academic curriculum is designed to give our pupils a broad and rounded education while allowing them maximum opportunity to develop their individual interests and strengths through their chosen fields of specialist study.
Third Form to Fifth Form: the Middle Years Programme and GCSE • Third Form to Fifth Form: the Middle Years Programme and GCSE • From the moment pupils arrive in the Third Form they experience a rich and stimulating education based in the International Baccalaureate Middle Year's Programme (IB MYP). The MYP curriculum, tailored by Wellington's own teachers to meet the aspirations of an increasingly academically gifted intake, offers both breadth and depth in eight key learning areas: Mathematics, Science, English, Modern and Classical Languages, Humanities, the Arts, Technology and Physical Education. While the courses within each field are taught separately by subject-specialist teachers, all are designed to emphasise the links between them and between learning and its real-world context. Similarly, in keeping with the IB ethos, the curriculum accentuates personal enquiry, independent study, internationalism, and social responsibility. In addition, all pupils take Wellington's distinctive courses in Well-being and thinking, which encourage them to reflect on their own personal, social, emotional and intellectual development. Following their initial experience of the MYP, pupils entering the Fourth Form from September 2010 pupils will choose between the MYP or a more traditional programme of GCSEs, selecting not only which subjects they wish to study but what kind of education they want as preparation for their futures in a rapidly changing, intellectually stimulating, technologically developed and fast-globalising world.
The Sixth Form: A Levels and the IB Diploma • On entering the Sixth Form, pupils may choose between A Levels and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. While plenty of advice and information is offered, pupils at Wellington are free to choose the kind of education they want for their future: • IB: A broad, balanced, international and socially engaged education for the whole person • A Level: An intensive, specialist education in a focused range of subjectsBoth pathways are academically rigorous, internationally recognised, and valued by universities and employers. Both require motivation, commitment and intellectual curiosity. Neither is inherently more or less difficult than the other; nor is one or the other more suited to strong or weak pupils. They are fundamentally different forms of education and are suited to different individuals for different reasons.The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme offers pupils a world class education as preparation for university and the rapidly changing world beyond. Pupils take a balanced range of languages, sciences, humanities and arts along with a course in the theory of knowledge and an independent research project. The IB is designed to keep pupils' options open and to stimulate genuine engagement with learning and our global society. The IB's standards are second to none, and its graduates go on to study the full range of courses at universities in the UK and abroad. It should be taken by pupils who are motivated, interested and keen to embrace a world of diversity and change.A Levels offer a reputation of academic strength, the opportunity to choose a focused range of subjects for specialist study and six-monthly examination modules with regular re-take opportunities. A Levels are demanding and scholarly; they are the standard in the uk and the choice for those who know exactly what they want to do at university and beyond.
The Eight Aptitudes • Wellington is committed to all-round or holistic education and the development, in full, of each pupil’s individual gifts. We aim to help nurture the following aptitudes: • Aptitude Descriptor Linguistic Words and language, written and spoken; retention, interpretation and explanation of ideas and information via language; understanding relationship between communication and meaning; ability in English, languages and the humanities • Logical Logical thinking, detecting patterns, scientific reasoning and deduction; analysing problems, performing mathematical calculations, understanding the relationship between cause and effect • Cultural Artistic ability and awareness, appreciation and use of sound and vision; appreciation of music, art and dramatic skill • Physical Body movement control, manual dexterity, physical agility and balance; eye and body coordination; sporting and dance prowess • Spiritual Awareness and appreciation of one’s place in the world; thinking and awareness beyond materialism and the self • Moral Awareness of personal responsibility, of right and wrong and steering clear of the wrong; openness and honesty with those around you; having firm principles and sticking to them • Personal Self-awareness, knowing yourself, personal objectivity; knowing of your own need for, and reaction to change • Social Perception of other people’s feelings; ability to relate to others; getting on with others; including others
Wellington, Tianjin The College is located on a 35,000 sq.m. site in the Hongqiao district of Tianjin, some fifteen minutes by car from the commercial centre of the city. Construction of the buildings commenced in September 2009 and is due to be completed in May 2011, in good time for the opening of the College in August 2011. The result is one of the most striking and well-resourced school campuses in China, if not the world, whether in terms of the architectural style, the range of facilities or the generally pleasing effect on the eye. By the end of 2010, the College has already become a Tianjin landmark.
Wellington Academy in Wilitshire • Our Academy draws its inspiration from the purpose behind the academies programme, from the ethos of our sponsor, Wellington College, as well as from a vision of a world-class 21st century education. This vision is informed by our understanding of highly successful practice, both in this country and abroad. • The Wellington College 'DNA' which will be adapted as the basis for the ethos of our Academy is centred around: excellence, leadership, service to others, boarding, outstanding pastoral care through houses, internationalism and outdoor education. In addition, the College has long standing links with the military, which will continue in the Academy, given the proximity of the school to the proposed super garrison at Tidworth.
WCA – Parental involvement • The first is to organise a number of events which make full use of the College's educational and cultural facilities. These include talks by visiting speakers: highlights have included visits by Yasmin Alibhai Brown and Sky TV's Adam Boulton,Greta Scacchi and OW Sebastian Faulks. This year we have hosted talks by former Conservative leader Michael Howard and Harvard university's Professor Howard Gardner, the author of 'Five Minds of the Future', as well as insights from expert members of the Wellington Community such as talks on the Health Service by Lord Darzi, a Wellington parent. • Secondly, we want to give parents opportunities to meet each other and members of the staff in a relaxed atmosphere at a number of formal and informal social occasions and range from concerts such as that on the Eve of Speech Day, to special interest walks. We also take trips overseas to places of interest such as the battlefields of the first world war and Waterloo and Rome, in Europe, and further afield to Morocco, with trips planned for St Petersburg and Arnhem over the coming months.
The Old Wellingtonian Society • THE OLD WELLINGTONIAN SOCIETY was founded in 1890 to:- • further the interests of Wellington College and its past and present members and, in the words of the Society's founder, to keep former pupils in touch with each other and with the school. • maintain a Register of names of all who have passed through the College since 1859 and the addresses of all those alive. • arrange reunions and other functions for Old Wellingtonians.
Wellbeing • In September 2006, we made the decision to launch a course in happiness and well-being for our 4th and 5th Form students. This decision sparked enormous - and unexpected - interest nationally and internationally, which several years on has yet to die away.
Round Square • Round Square is based on the theories of experiential educational philosopher Kurt Hahn who believed that schools should have a greater purpose beyond preparing young people for College and University. Dr. Hahn believed that it was crucial for students to prepare for life by having them face it head on and experience it in ways that would demand courage, generosity, imagination, principle and resolution. As a result, he felt that young people would become empowered and develop the skills and abilities to be the leaders and guardians of tomorrow's world. • Reaching Beyond Our Limits • In October 2011 Wellington will be hosting the Annual Conference, and will welcome hundreds of delegates for all over the world. In doing so we will be following in the footsteps of previous hosts including Thailand, India, Canada and many more, and we hope to show our visitors a taste of British Culture.
Conferences – Leading the Educational Debate • Shadow Education Secretary Andy Burnham will be delivering a keynote speech • Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy will give us his point of view on the education system • AC Grayling will be debating faith schools
Conferences • Wellington is becoming a national and international centre for educational thinking and debate. The conference programme at Wellington is aimed at heads and teachers from both the independent and state sector, and other interested parties such as universities, local authorities and subject specialists. The programme addresses the leading educational issues of the day. • The conferences are extremely successful, attracting hundreds of delegates from all over the country. They have been on subjects including the teaching of Mandarin in British schools, state and independent school sectors working together more effectively, politics and education, and teaching happiness and well-being. Speakers have included Professor Howard Gardner, Dr Martin Seligman, Michael Gove MP, Tal Ben Shahar, Lord Adonis, David Willetts MP, Professor Lord Richard Layard, Sir Cyril Taylor, Sir Peter Lampl and Dr Martin Stephen.
A New Library for the 21st Century – A Centre for Innovation and Research
The New Library • A 21st century library has to incorporate the best of the old and the best of the new. The model we envisage is old and new technologies working seamlessly together. The book remains the best data retrieval system we know of – it has years of life left. However, we’re not going to use the 20 volume OED any longer: the band-up-to-date internet version is much better. • Students will increasingly provide the hardware; libraries will provide the resources – online subscription just as important as hard copies. • Ipad currently best browser for ease of access/ portability/ working in conjunction with print resources – a bank will be available for teachers and pupils. • All space will be flexible to enable teaching and learning to take place in different forms.
