Wellington College Shanghai sends its warmest congratulations to Hiba Academy Hangzhou and Wellington College International Hangzhou on their opening ceremonies today. The highlight was the singing of the new Hiba School Hangzhou school song by all the pupils present. Gerard MacMahon, Executive Master of our Shanghai schools, who attended the ceremonies in Hangzhou, said: “The opening of our new sister schools so close by in Hangzhou, gives us great opportunities to work together to develop world-leading schools. For the last year, teachers from Hiba Academy Shanghai and Hiba Academy Hangzhou have been collaborating to bring together the best of both worlds by shaping a new bilingual curriculum. Our colleagues in Hangzhou have a wonderful campus and a talented team of teachers: they are on well their way to being the top schools in the city.”
Hangzhou, China – 12th September 2018: The grand opening ceremony for Hiba Academy Hangzhou and Wellington College International Hangzhou was held. Ms. Yang Xiaofeng, Deputy District Mayor of Xiaoshan, Mr. Zhong Huacheng, Deputy Director of the Administrative Committee of the Xiaoshan Development Zone, Ms. Jing Liu, Head of the Education and Skills Department for International Trade of the British Embassy Beijing, Mr. Wai-Kit Ho, Consul Bilateral of the British Consulate Shanghai, Mr. Shao Shenghua, Director of the Administrative Committee of Xiaoshan Innovation Polis, Mr. Xu Guanbao, Vice Chairman of Transfar Group, Ms. Felicity Kirk, Board of Governors, Wellington College, Ms. Joy Qiao, Chair of Governors, Wellington College China, Ms. Helen Kavanagh, Chief Executive Officer, Wellington College China, Mr. Paul Rogers, Founding Executive Master, Wellington College Hangzhou, and media guests, attended this milestone event in the history of Wellington College Hangzhou.
Hiba Academy Hangzhou was officially opened by the distinguished guests
Celebrating the opening of Wellington College International Hangzhou
The opening of Hiba Academy Hangzhou and Wellington College International Hangzhou mark a break-through in educational progress by Hiba Education Group and Wellington College China for Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. As the only private school in China’s Xiaoshan Innovation Polis, Hiba Academy Hangzhou has been founded by Hiba Education Group, supported by Wellington College China, with infrastructure provided by the Transfar Group. It will offer the very best balance of Chinese and British education for pupils between the ages of 2 to 18, mainly targeting local Hangzhou families keen to gain the best education for their children. Wellington College International Hangzhou offers a world-class international education for children of expatriate families from the ages of 5 to 18.
Hiba Academy Hangzhou school song performance by the founding pupils
Ms. Joy Qiao stated, “We just celebrated the establishment of Hiba Education Group and Hiba Academy Shanghai yesterday, and today we are here to welcome the opening of Hiba Academy Hangzhou and Wellington College International Hangzhou. This means our cooperation with Wellington College has been elevated to a new level. I’m excited and proud, but also feel a sense of obligation and purpose. We hold the vision of providing a first-class education that embraces the merits of both western and eastern systems and is authentically holistic in nature. The Hiba Education Group recognizes the importance of academic excellence, while also seeking to develop the whole child, so that they are prepared for success at the school and as global citizens within an increasingly connected world. We are dedicated to building a caring and bilingual community where pupils exhibit the Hiba Identity: Inspired, Intellectual, Independent, Individual and Inclusive, along with the Hiba values of kindness, courage, integrity, respect, and responsibility. I hope that we can contribute to the development of international education in Hangzhou.”
Ms. Joy Qiao delivered her speech
Hiba Academy Hangzhou personalises learning to meet the needs and interests of all pupils from age 2 to 18. Pupils follow the Hiba Education immersion model, experiencing about half of their learning in Chinese and half in English, whilst complying with the Zhejiang local and Chinese National Curriculum. The children will experience a fully integrated Hiba Education broad curriculum including PE, art, and music. In addition, the school also adopts a progressive pastoral programme, which seeks to develop well-rounded pupils through effective tutoring, well-being programmes, close communications with parents, and a focus on the mental and physical health.
Hiba Academy Hangzhou
Together with the school’s leadership team, Mr. Paul Rogers has worked diligently developing the curriculum and recruiting teachers since August 2017, in readiness for opening.
Filled with confidence, Mr. Rogers said, “Since the official launch of the strategic partnership between Wellington College China and the Xiaoshan Innovation Polis on January 11th 2017, the project has run extremely smoothly. With the excellent campus facilities and world-class teaching team, the two schools will begin their journey with nearly 600 pupils, following over one year of preparation. Each child is unique, and our aim is to provide a transformative experience, fully developing each pupil’s values and identity. The Hiba Academy Hangzhou community comprises like-minded, passionate, and committed educators who have been recruited from international job fairs through a rigorous process. Registered on August 1st, they are ready for work following one month of intensive on-the-job training.”
Mr. Paul Rogers delivered his speech
Today also marks the official ceremony to celebrate the opening of Wellington College International Hangzhou, the third international school of Wellington College China after Tianjin and Shanghai. The school aims to offer a world-class international education for children of expatriate families from the aged 5 to 18. In the first phase of opening in 2018, the College will operate from year 1 to year 6 (ages 5 to 11) and then grow year-on-year to offer a pathway to IGCSE and A-Levels or the IB Diploma. Expressing his gratitude for the support Wellington College Hangzhou has received from a range of stakeholders, Mr. Rogers stated, “On behalf of Wellington College Hangzhou, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation for the great support from the education departments of both Zhejiang Provincial and Hangzhou Municipal Government. Capitalising on the successful hosting of the G20 summit, Hangzhou has become a world-famous city, attracting high-end international talent, which in turn significantly increases the demand for high-quality education”.
Ms. Felicity Kirk delivered her speech
Ms. Felicity Kirk added, “Wellington offers the Hangzhou schools support and guidance in providing the highest quality education, aligned in philosophy with Wellington College in England whilst breaking new ground in bringing together the very best of Chinese and British education in partnership with China Xiaoshan Science & Technology Polis. We believe that the opening of Wellington and Hiba in Hangzhou will stand as a remarkable milestone for Wellington in its educational journey in China. With a proud tradition of educating for the future, Wellington College will continuously support and work for the development of education through cooperation with Wellington College China.” Ms. Jing Liu remarked, “The education practices in China and the UK share similarities, but they also have their own unique strengths. The British-style schools in China bring together the very best of educational practices from the East and the West under the framework of Chinese education curriculum regulations. Through this, they can develop global citizens equipped with an innovative spirit and the skills needed for the future. I am glad to see such close cooperation between Wellington College in England and Wellington College China. In just a few years, this relationship has resulted in the successful founding of Wellington College Tianjin and Wellington College Shanghai. Today, these advisory and consulting functions, along with other deep ties, have supported the successful opening of Hiba School Hangzhou and Hiba Academy Hangzhou, which provide high quality private bilingual education to Chinese children in Hangzhou, by integrating the strengths of Eastern and Western education philosophies. The ties between Wellington College in England, Wellington College China and the Hiba schools have contributed to the development of international and bilingual education in China, committed to nurturing international skills, holistically developed in a way that is mindful of both Chinese and international contexts. This win-win cooperation in education, can provide a strong example of the success that may be achieved by cooperation between the UK and China.”
Ms. Jing Liu, Head of the Education and Skills Department for International Trade of the British Embassy Beijing, delivered her speech
The campus design and the facilities of Wellington College Hangzhou were led by Wellington College China. Transfar Group appointed the same construction team that built Wellington College International Tianjin and Hiba Academy Shanghai. The purpose-built world-class campus is designed to offer pupils the very best learning environment with a wide variety of facilities to accommodate the various academic and co-curricular opportunities on offer. The science laboratories, art rooms, and design technology suites are designed, first and foremost, to encourage enjoyment of both practical and theoretical work. They also facilitate that extra level of creativity and ambition that great scientists, artists and designers strive for and achieve.
Wellington College Hangzhou
Hiba Education Group, officially launched yesterday in Shanghai, includes Hiba Institute of Learning, Hiba Academy Shanghai, Hiba Academy Shanghai, Hiba Academy Hangzhou, and Hiba Academy Hangzhou. It engages Wellington College as its teaching consultant and benefits from management support from Wellington College China to guarantee the highest academic standards and ensure the fullest all-round development of pupils.
Hiba Education’s vision is to strive for virtue and wisdom. Nurture growth through values and morality
In addition, The Bridge | China of Hiba Education Group yesterday officially signed a cooperation memorandum with Durham University, pledging to design together a professional training curriculum for global teacher and leadership teams.
