The Week Ahead 29th May 2020

From the Master

Julian Jeffrey

Dear parents

It is a characteristic of the month of May in schools to be a time of review and reflection, looking back over the school year that will soon reach its conclusion. It has been no different this year, as you will be well aware. We have reported to parents on the Annual Review process and its results; we have spoken to many groups and individuals among the parent body on the experience of e-learning; the school’s yearbook, that celebration of life within the College, will be published to parents in the coming weeks; and, of course, pupils from the Junior and Senior Schools have spent the month working on revision for the imminent assessment week. 

This process of reflection is important. It helps us as a school to gauge progress in a measured and self-critical way, evaluating where we are as an institution against the goals we set ourselves in 2019. Of course, some of our plans were swept aside by the jarring interruption to conventional schooling posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. It decimated the sports’ and arts’ programmes (although I very much hope we can revive the plans for Chicago in the coming months) and derailed a raft of plans for exciting expeditions and trips. The global impact can be seen in the abandonment of public examinations in May and June, adding a new layer of stress on our already anxious young people. The hidden impact of the pandemic – the isolation that so many children faced, the uncertainties over its duration and concerns for family and friends – which may play out in the mental wellbeing of our community is perhaps still too early to judge. The early signs are cautiously positive as pupils report feeling safe and secure once back in school, but the longer-term impact (and potential for second or even third waves of infection) remains unknowable.

As important as it is to trace a journey by looking back, there comes a time when we must all look forward and plan for the road ahead. I wrote to all parents a couple of weeks ago with the outline of the academic priorities for the coming year, and I will be talking about them (and more) in the briefing on Wednesday (for details, see below). I will add some details to the bare bones I outlined in my letter, but also update parents on the recruitment of staff for the new year, the plans for dealing with any recurrence of Covid-19 as well as our development of e-learning.

2020/21 promises to be another year of unceasing energy and a relentless focus on improvement for both the pupils and the school. We have some hugely exciting examination results due in August and the year groups coming through now offer some mouth-watering potential for admissions to the world’s top five universities. As we move into the 10th year since our foundation, my colleagues and I are as determined as ever to make Wellington in Tianjin the very best school it can be.

Best wishes

Julian Jeffrey
MASTER