Wellington Today Wellington Today 2017 en | Page 66

WELLINGTON COLLEGE CHINA
WELLINGTON TODAY 2017
WELLINGTON
FESTIVALS AND
GUEST LECTURERS
WELLINGTON COLLEGE
FESTIVAL OF EDUCATION 2016
Following the success of the first event in October 2015, the
Wellington College Festival of Education opened its doors again
in October 2016 to over 500 attendees from the Shanghai
community. On Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 October,
Wellington College Bilingual Shanghai welcomed 10 renowned
speakers who offered interactive bilingual workshops with an
Early Years focus to parents and guests. The capacity attendance
and positive response from parents showed the high level of
interest in Early Years education and parents’ desire to learn
more about it from experts in their field. The Festival then
moved to Wellington College International Shanghai for the main
event on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 October. During the two-day
Festival, educators, parents and students from various schools
and backgrounds attended provoking and innovative talks on
education. The 2016 Festival of Education provided opportunity
for debate and discussion on education and its place in a rapidly
changing world.
This year’s four strands – the relationship between UK and
Chinese education, pupils’ wellbeing, Early Years education
and improving teaching practice – asked interesting questions
about wide-ranging and increasingly relevant educational topics.
Speakers like David Didau, the Self-Esteem Team and
Jun Yang-Williams discussed ideas about what schools teach,
how they teach it now, and how they might teach it in the future.
At the same time, Sue Carpenter, Clair Watson and Michelle
Stone delivered sessions exploring the importance of building
character and identity, use of singing to promote rapid language
acquisition and cultivating creativity.
Following the 2016 Festival, Dr. Stephen Jacobi, Festival Director,
commented: “Wellington College in Shanghai is privileged to
accommodate the debate. We feel we have a responsibility to
develop it and, perhaps in a humble way, shape its progress.
Now in its second year, the aim is for this and future festivals
to become more inclusive, more investigative, and even more
dynamic.”
The discussion will continue in October 2017.
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