Huili School Hangzhou: Another Successful Year

And, just like that, another successful academic year ends and the pupils prepare for their long-anticipated summer break. Of course, many of the team in Hangzhou will be busily preparing for the coming 2020-2021 academic year, in the meantime we want to thank everyone who contributed so much to ensure that this year was a success. 

Let us look back at the year that has passed: a year that surely none of us will ever forget. 

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Our second school year started on a high, with the student body almost doubling to roughly 1,100 pupils. This brought a refreshed energy to the campus and the first days of school were certainly abuzz with activity. From orientation days to the first days of classes, the campus was a hive of activity as both returning and new students connected and new and old friendships blossomed.

One of the major achievements in the first semester, was the official COBIS (Council of British International Schools) accreditation visit where Huili School Hangzhou successfully received Accreditation  in September 2019. This was a major achievement for a school in only its second year of operation. 

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The school was awarded Patron Accreditation status at that time, being deemed to have met all of the 40 standards of a well-established British style international school.

The accreditors from COBIS carried out a thorough and detailed inspection into the teaching, facilities, resources, boarding, curriculum, child security and wellbeing within our school, and more besides. They attended various assemblies and ceremonies, joined over 80 lessons, experienced School Activities and joined reading activities in the library. At the same time, they looked at our planned curriculum to confirm that it meets the needs of our learners. In the corridors and on the playground, they talked with pupils freely about their experiences in the school.

After three days of inspection, Huili School Hangzhou was awarded Patron Accreditation status, the first bilingual school to be incorporated within the COBIS family. Meanwhile, we were granted Blue Ribbon Status for our outstanding ethos and values, extracurricular activities and boarding, which means that COBIS would recommend other schools to take note of the quality we offer in these particular areas.

With COBIS accreditation, Huili teachers can attend various training sessions run by COBIS, and Huili pupils are permitted to participate in a host of school competitions. Most importantly, it raises Huili School Hangzhou’s profile and recognition around the world, making our Huili graduates more competitive in university applications. It is a wonderful start for our school to become a prestigious school in China, and later, the world.

In addition we were delighted to learn that our Director of CCAs was granted COBIS Peer Accreditor status this past week which means he would be involved in future COBIS visits to other schools and as a result be in the position to share new ideas and bring back new initiatives to Huili School Hangzhou in the future.

As the school year progressed, many of the regularly scheduled events continued, such as the Sports Day, which saw all pupils competing across a wide range of activities and events. 

In all areas, our Sports program continued to thrive throughout this academic year. The performance swimming squad and swimming development squads became more established, and members participated in swimming tournaments including the 2019 Wellington College Shanghai Swimming Competition, performing extremely well and establishing a strong reputation already at this early stage of their own development. 

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On October 19th, Wellington College Hangzhou hosted the First Wellington Cup Synchronised Swimming Competition. 

As the competitors entered the pool and performed graciously in water along to the music, the fierce competition became an eye-catching performance and a fantastic feast to the eyes! 

We were so proud that the synchronised swimming team from Wellington College Hangzhou won second place in the group competition.

In soccer, our Under-11 and Under-14 boy’s and girl’s teams performed admirably across a range of tournaments both in Hangzhou, and in wider China. Clearly, in coming years these teams will be a force to reckon with. 

Badminton continued to be an area of strength for our pupils and again, they were able to compete strongly in Hangzhou, Ningbo, Shanghai and beyond. 

Two pupils travelled to Beijing to compete in our first ever fencing competition at Beijing International School, competing in sabre and foil. The technical skill and the physical effort on display from both pupils was inspiring to watch and both boys showed a lot of independence and good organisation during what was a long event, coming third in their respective categories, which is an amazing achievement. They were a credit to Huili School Hangzhou in the way that they competed.

Music and the performing arts, a major focus of life at Huili, also saw great progress. As Ms. Gaul, Head of Music, explained; 

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“The 2019-2020 school year has been a time of great emotion for all. As a department we began the school year full of anticipation, welcoming two new members of staff: Mr. Montoya and Mr. Greer. Both teachers brought amazing energy, experience and creative ideas drawn from their different backgrounds in music. Mr. Greer is an experienced DJ and producer as well as a seasoned teacher of the IGCSE music curriculum. Mr. Montoya, a baritone vocalist, brought a dedication to teaching healthy singing technique to all grades. 

Quickly, the music department introduced a variety of small and large group ensembles to enhance the core academic curriculum for music. Rock bands were created under the guidance of Mr. Greer and Mr. Batters. A Children’s Choir of more than 70 pupils from Grade 1-3 were co-led by myself and Mr. Montoya. An advanced level choir was developed by Mr. Montoya for the older grades. An instrumental ensemble for older pupils combining percussion, tone chimes and traditional instruments worked closely with me and Mr. Montoya. A drama group led by me worked on a series of poem and movement pieces that combined soundscapes.

During breaks and lunch times, pupils could be heard in every practice room diligently practicing. When not teaching classes, the music team could be found throughout the day working individually or in small groups with pupils on a variety of music and performing art projects. The energy from the fourth floor was palpable and so many pupils were inspired to practice that we had to institute a rotating practice schedule to accommodate all this creative energy. Before the December break this hard work culminated in the Second Annual Winter Celebration of Performing Arts. It was an amazing effort that showcased more than two hundred pupils performing in small and large groups. 

When we returned from our holiday break, we were reinvigorated to begin work on a new series of performances throughout the spring with the culmination planned for the Second Annual End of Year Performance. This sadly was not to be. As we all know, during the Chinese New Year break our world changed as COVID-19 quickly spread”.

Our Boarding House is another element that continued to go from strength to strength this year. Ms. Armstrong, our Boarding Mistress, explains; 

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“The second year in Ming House has once been again a very successful year, seeing the numbers of boarding pupils double and the expansion from two floors of boarding to four. 

Following on from the success of the first Wellington College Annual Review, where boarding was awarded a rating of ‘Excellent’, we were delighted that during the COBIS accreditation process all areas of boarding were awarded blue ribbon status. This is a great achievement and testament to everything that has been accomplished (so far) since opening in 2018.

It was fantastic to welcome so many new faces to Ming House amongst the more familiar faces from the founding year. Ming House can only be described as a flourishing, thriving House with a special community like no other. It is a place where friends for life are made and relationships are forged. It was therefore no surprise that immediately we started to see these bonds begin to form with the pupils sharing their experiences. Roommates soon adapted to each other’s ways, classmates worked together, and year groups mixed fluidly.

The daily organised activities on offer played a large part in the more communal aspects of boarding, by providing the opportunity for pupils to enjoy time socialising with each other whilst developing various skills. This year, mathletics and Accelerated Reader were included in the many activities, providing clear and specific values for the pupils’ academic progress. The designated supervised time for the pupils wishing to practice their music in the Performing Arts Centre also proved to be very popular. Many boarders, however, enjoy sport and art-based activities, and we thus increased opportunities in these areas.

The many events organised throughout the first semester wholeheartedly embraced the bilingual nature of the school and of Ming House. The balance between cultures, ensuring cultural awareness and mutual respect, plays an integral part in boarding life. For example, spring roll making for Chinese New Year, a Christmas disco or carving Halloween pumpkins. Being exposed to a range of cultures is one of the key benefits to a Huili education and at Ming House we have always aimed to enhance that where possible”.

The CCA programme, although heavily impacted by COVID-19, did still thrive this year. As Mr. Armstrong, Director of Co-Curricular Activities explains;

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“This year the School Activities programme also grew in leaps and bounds. Prior to the eLearning period we were offering 210 school activities each week, increasing from 35 per day to more than 70. The programme was been greatly enhanced with the inclusion of many offsite activities such as ice hockey, archery, sailing and kayaking. 

We also engaged with a range of external vendors on campus to offer activities such as tennis and golf; complementing the already rich and vibrant programme. The variety of opportunities the pupils were able to experience was terrific, and being able to choose from academic, creative, physical and performing art activities meant children could try new experiences and then choose to focus on the ones that truly excited and inspired them”.

Of course, it is impossible to recap this year without looking at the eLearning period and the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.

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When the COVID-19 outbreak first emerged before the Chinese New Year in 2020, the school leadership team set up an emergency response team and communicated regularly online. The leadership in the communication and coordination of our response to COVID-19 has set the benchmark for other schools to follow; leadership characterised by strength and compassion for the whole community, inspiring real collaboration in an extreme situation.

In doing our best to replicate the unique Huili approach to holistic education, a wide range of additional resources and services were rolled out to make the delivery of eLearning not just a temporary solution to a problem, but a robust, enjoyable and rigorous educational provision that ensured our pupils continued to thrive throughout this challenging time. 

In such a short time, Wellington and Huili schools around China achieved the seemingly impossible; moving the entire curriculum to a smooth, online delivery that maintained face to face contact and helped children not only educationally, but also socially and emotionally as they navigated this difficult time with their parents.

Our parents also responded in such a way that schools might only normally dream of; ensuring that their children are able to access IT, highlighting issues where necessary and enabling the staff team to provide the best quality eLearning platform for their children. All of this was handled admirably by our parents whilst they juggled their own work commitments and demands. 

The resilience of our pupils to adapt immediately to a new learning style needs to be applauded. Being digitally native, they were able to produce fantastic work, ensuring that they did not sacrifice academic progress. Demonstrating the values of our schools, their eLearning portfolios look very impressive! This is a life experience that our children will certainly carry with them into the future, enabling them to be truly digital, global citizens.

While the COVID-19 outbreak might remain one of the starkest memories of this academic year, we shouldn’t allow it to obscure our other memories, and all of the fantastic things that occurred across the breadth of the curriculum throughout the year. This week pupils will be receiving their Yearbooks. Held within each yearbook is a treasure trove of memories that are certain will help families reflect on what a special year this has been. 

If you are interested in joining this inspiring learning community, please reach out to our professional Admissions Team who will be delighted to host you for a personalised campus introduction, and answer all of your questions. We have a limited number of spaces remaining in certain grade levels, and look forward to discussing if Huili School Hangzhou can provide the right education for your child. 

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惠贤育能，立德树人

杭州惠立学校为2-18岁的学生提供世界一流品质的双语教育。其中，杭州惠立幼儿园引入英国早期基础教育体系、并结合中国教育部《幼儿园教育指导纲要》为2-5岁儿童提供教育服务。小学和初中阶段遵循国家课程标准及浙江省课程要求开展教学，进入高中后将采用IGCSE和A Level/IB课程体系。每一个学段的课程都会为学生提供广泛的国际教育资源。

学校有一套完善的幸福关怀体系贯穿各个学段，在惠立特质和价值观的引导下，以惠立特有的教学方法，为学生提供全人教育，培养学生具备积极、慎思、个性、独立和包容的惠立特质，成长为全面发展的、具备优质综合才能的惠立学子，使其能在未来茁壮成长。当我们的学生完成杭州惠立学校的学业后，也为步入世界顶尖大学做好了充分的准备。

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