Dear parents

We held our annual year 13 graduation ceremony last Friday. I hope that those of you without children in the graduating class were still able to enjoy the live stream coverage of the afternoon's celebrations. It was a fitting conclusion to their time at Wellington for these young men and women. The tributes from their Housemasters and mistresses, allied to moving and thoughtful speeches from our founder and chairman, Ms Joy Qiao and the guest of honour, Mr Matthew Ford, created a profoundly moving atmosphere. I found myself wishing we had an extra year 14 year group for these wonderfully talented young people to move up into, just so they could stay with us for a little longer, but that, of course, was purely selfish. I recognise, as do they, that their time in school is coming to a fitting and timely end. They are preparing for the next step in their lives, and I believe each one is ready for that doorway into adulthood.

Watching our graduates celebrate the end of their time at Wellington made me think of how the school can help pupils in other year groups reach a similar point of triumph and achievement when they get to year 13. To me, a learning journey that encompasses a bilingual start in the Nest, then moves seamlessly into the English National Curriculum and IPC for the Junior School years, and from there into the IGCSE and A Level programmes, provides pupils with a clear and continuous pathway to successful schooling. Year by year, each successive step up through the school builds on prior learning, developing a pupil's confidence in learning, independence, resilience and capacity to operate successfully in written and spoken academic English. For those children who join us at different stages of their schooling, support is available to ensure rapid progress in social assimilation and fostering a clear understanding of our expectations as a school. I am always gratified to see how quickly children adjust to the ways Wellington works as a learning community, whatever their own individual backgrounds.

The ways we support, stretch and challenge our pupils whilst in school are familiar territory for our pupils and families. In a matter of weeks, though, we will break for the extended summer holiday, and I know that many parents will already be thinking about how best to maintain the momentum of a school year into almost eight weeks away from the classroom. Of course, there is a need to rest and recharge. All pupils and staff find the school year a long one. Many children have spent months preparing for some of the most stressful examinations in their young lives. They need time away from formal learning, if for nothing more than a chance to focus their energies on things they enjoy but that often fall into abeyance during the pressure of exam revision. For such pupils, the summer holiday is a valuable time for catching up on reading, music, and sport.

I would suggest three other constructive ways for children to spend July and August.

The year 13 graduates who move on this summer to their dream university destinations understood the advantages of using holiday breaks to add to their experiences of life and learning. It is never too early to start thinking about broadening your child's access to ways of learning so that they too can enjoy their own graduation celebrations in years to come.  

Best wishes

Julian Jeffrey
MASTER

Common Room
0900hrs-1015hrs, Wednesday
09th June