Wellington College to open international school in Hangzhou

BEIJING- One of the UK's leading public schools, Wellington College, will open a new international school in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, in September, the school announced Thursday.

Wellington College International Hangzhou is located in Xiaoshan district of Hangzhou and aims to offer international education for children of expatriate families from ages 5 to 18. In the first phase of opening in 2018, the College will operate for students in Year 1 to Year 6, or ages 5 to 11, and then grow each year to offer a pathway to A-Levels or the IB Diploma.

This will be Wellington College China's third international school after Tianjin and Shanghai and the 13th new member of the Wellington College family worldwide.

According to Paul Rogers, Founding Executive Master of Wellington College Hangzhou, Wellington College has chosen Hangzhou as the location for its third international school in China because it sees a demand for high-quality international education following Hangzhou's successful G20 Summit in 2016.

"Hangzhou's reputation as a hub for innovation and creativity has attracted high-end foreign talent in fields such as technology and e-commerce. Many have moved to the city with families, and this has triggered high demand for international education institutions," said Rogers.

Statistics show that Hangzhou had more than 25,000 foreign students studying in higher education institutions in the city and 15,000 skilled foreign workers as of the end of February. The city rolled out new measures to attract foreign talent in late February. It also plans to introduce 10 international schools by 2022.

Rogers also believes that the new school is part of the increasing educational cooperation between China and the UK.

According to the UK Department for International Trade, there will be more than 20 British school brands with over 50 campuses in China by the end of 2020.

"Wellington College wants to combine the best of Chinese and British education and culture and provide an education that will produce truly global citizens," said Rogers.