This year, 11 pupils from our Wellington campuses in Tianjin and Shanghai have received interview invitations from Cambridge and Oxford Universities. Considering the challenges we have all been facing this year, this is no small accomplishment. But our pupils' successes have not been limited just to Oxbridge interviews.
Many pupils have already begun receiving offers from other prestigious UK institutions like University College London, King's College London, Imperial College London, University of Manchester, University of Warwick, University of Edinburgh and the University of Durham.
Furthermore, our pupil’s aspirations extend to other top universities right around the globe. Pupils in Tianjin and Shanghai have already started to hear back from their early applications – with acceptances already from Ivy League institutions such as University of Pennsylvania and other top schools including Carnegie Mellon and NYU in the United States and the University of Toronto in Canada.
At Wellington College China, seeing our pupils off to a quality university is a job we take very seriously, and we have put in place a comprehensive system of support to make sure it happens. Here are two examples.
Wellington College International Tianjin's Festival of Higher Education
Wellington College Tianjin's annual Festival of Higher Education provides our pupils and those in the wider community the unique opportunity to meet face to face with admissions officers from the world's best universities. Visiting admissions officers give lectures and Q&A sessions, sharing invaluable advice on the admissions process. In fact, last year, more than 60 international universities participated.
Cambridge University Online Session
The current global situation has made it difficult to hold such events in person, however. We nevertheless maintain active communication with university admissions offices worldwide. This enabled us to hold more than 200 online admissions briefing sessions this year.
Every week, we have held three presentations by universities from around the world, enabling us to familiarise even more pupils with the application process. Mrs Jayne Sabio, Wellington College International Tianjin's head of sixth form, adds.
"As Wellington College Tianjin moves into its tenth year, our reputation among admissions’ officers from universities across the world continues to grow. They recognise that we are a premium-brand school that lives by its values. Whenever they visit, the feedback that we get from them is overwhelmingly positive. Furthermore, being part of a family of schools with a well-known name and reputation for academic integrity means that our pupils continue to access many of the top universities in the world."
Wellington College International Shanghai's Higher Education Pathway
Wellington College International Shanghai's Higher Education Pathway is a five-year programme developed by director of higher education and careers Steven Tippen and his team. The programme is delivered by career counselors, tutors and subject specialists and is supplemented with regular visits by university admissions officers, academics and professionals. It provides our pupils with admissions guidance along with a structured overview of what they should focus on in each academic year.
Year 9
Identifying strengths
and interests
When our pupils enter year 9, they begin to think broadly about their interests, strengths and what career paths appeal to them. We encourage them to engage in a variety of extra-curricular activities, and record their progress. This helps them to focus on exhibiting key attributes favoured by universities and employers, such as leadership and resilience.
Year 10
Career exploration
In year 10, pupils begin making connections between their strengths and interests with possible career options. This helps them to choose the right subjects for IGCSE and gets them thinking about their future options. They also learn about changes in global employment and the need to develop flexible skills. At this time, pupils will also write a resume and learn the importance of maintaining a positive image online.
Year 11
Subject exploration
and strategic planning
By year 11, pupils begin taking Morrisby assessments. These comprise a range of questionnaires and psychometric tests that help to identify how their strengths and preferences link to potential academic and employment options. They aid our pupils in deciding on their IB courses. During this year, our teachers also help them to develop an action plan for their last two years of Senior School study.
Year 12
Public exam preparation
and university applications
Year 12 is, in many ways, the keystone year in the university admissions cycle. Consequently, our pupils receive regular dedicated and timetabled sessions from autumn onwards. At this time, we encourage pupils to research their options in much greater depth and begin making final decisions about where and what they wish to study. We also help them prepare university applications.
Year 13
University application
and post-application support
We ensure that all year 13 pupils have begun their university applications online before summer and have already submitted a draft of their personal statement and/or college admissions essay. We try to get pupils to focus on an appropriate range of applications that are both realistic and challenging. Depending on their proposed destination, we provide further support. For instance, we offer subject-specific guidance and mock interviews for pupils applying for Oxbridge. Meanwhile, we make sure that they track their own university applications and balance this work with their demanding academic studies.
Our Festival of Higher Education and Higher Education Pathway are just two of the many ways in which we help our pupils find the right university. We also host a variety of events throughout the year, such as university visits and support sessions for US admissions tests, just to name a few. Ultimately, our comprehensive support system coupled with our pupils' hard work and determination get them the higher education that they want and deserve.
Please join us in wishing our 2021 graduates good luck. We look forward to hearing more news of their success.
