Wellington College International School Bangkok

Open Classroom sessions for parents are always very popular with our parents as it gives them a chance not just to see - but to experience their children's learning! Last week our Year 3 Music lesson had some special guests stepping into their children's shoes, becoming students for the lesson - while the students became the teachers! The parents completed musical tasks and even took on the challenge of learning the violin - as our students have been doing this term. From mastering tricky bow holds to playing their first notes, this was a fantastic session filled with laughter, learning, and teamwork!

Senior School Enrichments are a highlight of the week, allowing students to sample different areas of interest. In the Ceramics and Clay sessions, Head of Art, Ms Duna Carbonell works with students in all year groups to develop beautiful pieces of sculpture based on all kinds of subjects including the seashore, flowers or the human form. It's a great chance to let your imagination run riot!

In Junior School all our students visit the Library every week. They are encouraged to read broadly and to love reading. Our Library staff are on hand to help children discover new authors and new genres. It was lovely to see our Year 6 students completely engrossed in their books in this week's lesson. Books really are all around us!

On Wednesday, 12 March 2025 a group of our students from Year 5 to 8 took part in the First Languages Olympiad hosted by Bangkok Patana School, gathering together 264 participants from 11 schools. This event was a great opportunity to celebrate multilingualism and enhance language skills through fun activities. In three workshops, each dedicated to one language (French, Spanish and Mandarin), students worked in teams of 4 or 5, rotating between four different activities to challenge their skills in vocabulary, Arts/music, culture and sport/games. The primary focus was on team building and collaboration and each team was made of students from different schools and different year groups. Our students brilliantly upheld our values, showing respect, collaboration, inclusivity, integrity, curiosity, risk-taking, perseverance, and global awareness, along with critical thinking skills. Special congratulations to the following students - French: Bamboo Year 6 (Gold) Spanish: Nauen Year 7 (Gold) - Anya Year 7 (Bronze) Mandarin: Latte Year 8 (Gold) - Lincoln Year 7 (Silver) - Great Year 7 (Bronze) Thank you to our Languages teachers for accompanying the children and contributing to a wonderful impact made by Wellington!

Not to be outdone by the older Senior School students, our Years 7 and 8 took to the Sports Hall for their House Dodgeball on Thursday. It's always great fun and the atmosphere was VERY competitive. House points accumulate through the year so it's important to play for every last point if you want to be overall champion! Thank you to all our teachers who support these events and shout for their Houses! We are looking forward to the next events - lots more to come!

House competitions continue apace in Senior School with students involved in all kinds of activities on a regular basis - all for the glory of their House! With three House Tutor Groups to every house the stakes are high no matter what the occasion! This week it is the turn of Dodgeball with the first session yesterday and our Years 10-12 competing in the Sports Hall. Thank you as always to the teachers for supporting their Houses and to each and every student for getting involved!

Thank you to all our parents who attended today's Senior School Music Workshop. It was a pleasure to see so many on the fifth floor of the Skylight building for a very interactive session with Director of Performing Arts - Ms Sinead Corrigan and Head of Music - Mr Rayad Denyer-Green. The ice was well and truly broken with a practical session on the Djembe drums - there were some very talented musicians in our audience! Following this, Mr Denyer-Green outlined details of Music in the curriculum including the requirements and potential of IGCSE and A-Level Music. Both of these can really develop wider skill sets - and a lot of creative fun, too! Music at Wellington also involves numerous opportunities for performance - including orchestras, choirs, groups and ensembles across many types of music. Mr Denyer-Green shared the new spaces for Music classes in our Crowthorne Building, opening in August 2025. If you would like to hear more about our burgeoning and exciting music programme then do get in touch!

We were proud to host a very well attended Junior School Parent Workshop today with well-known psychologist and child development specialist Lalida Therakomen from Samitivej Hospital, talking to a large group of our parents. She explained about the concept of Nurturing Child Development, giving advice on various stages of childhood and growth and expected behaviours. She gave excellent insight into types of parenting styles along with tips and advice on resources and platforms. The event closed with a lively question and answer session with Lalida and our Head of Junior School, Ms Hannah Jeffs, and Deputy Head of Junior School, Ms Cate Hamilton. Thank you so much to all our parents who attended and asked such intelligent questions. Thank you to Ms Hamilton for organisation. We hold regular Parent Workshops in both Senior and Junior School and would love to hear of any suggestions for upcoming events! #WellingtonInclusive

We were delighted to welcome to Wellington yesterday, students from Brighton and Kings for The Great Debate - Junior Competition (Years 7-9). This is a longstanding, prestigious public speaking competition run in association with the UK Historical Association. This year's question was "How has history shaped me?", inspiring some well-researched, and confidently delivered responses. The speakers used wide reaching, global examples, such as the influence of Finnish politicians, Chinese admirals, and American aviators as part of their personal perspectives. We are very proud of the Wellington team of Pao Pao (Year 9), Lincoln (Year 7) and Shana (Year 9). The panel of judges chose Shana as the winner of this year's trophy. Well done to all the students who challenged themselves to enter. A big thank you to Mr Paul McCraw who organised the tournament and inspired our students. We look forward to the Senior competition on Thursday. #WellingtonIntellectual #WellingtonIndividual

As part of our many service initiatives, this week saw a second visit to Somporn Kroong Anusorn School in the neighborhood of Wellington College Bangkok. The Year 5 children were so excited to see our students again - and to learn English from them! The lesson was positive and engaging and the students loved learning from the Wellington "teachers". We are so proud of their patience and creativity in the classroom! Meanwhile, two of our Sixth Formers, Shawn and Neya, interviewed the school leader as part of their Global Social Leaders Project, which focuses on improving air quality for children in education. Finally, Ms Rachel Astor led a group of Year 9 students who interviewed Year 1 children and Year 1 teachers as part of their DT project to create toys and learning resources. It is wonderful to see such a fantastic, multi strand initiative. We are really proud to see Wellington students getting involved in so many great initiatives. Forging relationships like this are so beneficial for all concerned in so many different ways. #WelliningtonInclusive