At WCC, we have a robust, multi-layered governance structure that provides strategic oversight and accountability across all our schools. It consists of three key components: the WCC Executive Board, the School Affairs Boards (SABs) and a series of sub-committees.
The WCC Executive Board serves as the top level of governance, approving group-wide policies and overseeing the Central Office. Each Wellington College China school then has its own SAB, which is responsible for its governance and strategic direction. The SAB handles critical tasks such as hiring and evaluating school leadership, setting the school’s development plan and evaluating its progress, as well as monitoring educational and financial performance.
To provide more specialised and in-depth governance, the SABs have delegated certain responsibilities to four sub-committees. These allow for deeper analysis and decision-making in their respective domains.
The Academic Sub-Committee (ASC)
The ASC plays a vital role in evaluating the academic performance of our schools. The ASC closely examines a range of data and evidence, including:
• Quality of teaching
• Pupil attainment and progress data
• Public examination results
• University destinations of graduates
The Facilities and Services Sub-Committee (FaSC)
The FaSC oversees the physical infrastructure and support services that enable our schools to thrive. Key duties include:
• Aligning capital expenditure plans with the educational needs of pupils
• Evaluating the quality and effectiveness of services such as catering, uniforms, and transport
• Approving long-term facilities maintenance and improvement plans
• Signing off on capital expenditure budgets for facilities and IT
• Ensuring that robust environmental health and safety measures are in place across all WCC campuses
The Finance and HR Sub-Committee (FiHRSC)
The Finance and HR Sub-Committee (FiHRSC) is tasked with safeguarding the financial sustainability of our schools, as well as overseeing the development and compensation of our staff. Specific responsibilities include:
• Approving annual operating budgets
• Overseeing the creation of multi-year budgets aligned to each school’s educational plans
• Ensuring staff salaries are competitive externally and equitable
The Safeguarding and Child Protection Sub-Committee (SCPSC)
The SCPSC operates across the group. It is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of safeguarding and child protection. Through this sub-committee we uphold our uncompromising commitment to the safety and wellbeing of every pupil in our care. The SCPSC’s key duties are to:
• Review safeguarding updates and reports from the schools
• Monitor the implementation of WCC’s safeguarding action plans
• Ensure all safeguarding training remains current and in line with best practice from the UK
A key strength of this model is the diverse composition of our boards and committees. We have a balance of full-time, paid employee governors and unpaid, non-executive governors. Appointments come from both Wellington College in Crowthorne and WCC. The full-time governors bring deep institutional knowledge and administrative expertise, while the non-executive governors provide a wider range of external expertise in areas such as school leadership, academics, finance, legal matters, HR and facilities management.
This blend of voices ensures transparency and accountability while also enabling a more collaborative approach to governance. It has also garnered recognition within the wider field of international education. Most recently, the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) named Wellington College International Hangzhou a Beacon School for its governance practices. It is the only school in China to hold this title. Such an achievement underscores our steadfast commitment to setting the standard for effective, modern school governance.
School Affairs Board
Joy Qiao
Founder and Chairman
Joy Qiao is the Founder and Chairman of Wellington College China. She founded the group in 2009 and, under her leadership, Wellington China has become one of the most reputable international education groups in China and globally. Joy grew up in Shanghai and earned her BA in Computer Science at the University of Oxford. Prior to her devotion to education, she had extensive experience working in the IT industry in the United Kingdom, Germany and China.
Joy is married to a British husband and they have two teenage sons. Influenced by this, Joy's vision is to create the world's leading English-Chinese bilingual schools, which combine the very best attributes of both British and Chinese education. She views such blended education as being a key contributor towards deepening understanding and appreciation between China and the rest of the world. Bilingualism, cross-cultural awareness and global citizenship will all be highly valued skills in this century when East is meeting West.
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Rebecca Li
Kejie Associates
Senior Partner
Rebecca Li
Governor
Wellington College International Shanghai
Rebecca Li is a Senior Partner of Kejie Associates. She has extensive experience in implementing creative solutions to the most complex business issues and is well-positioned to support companies achieving strategic objectives with her well-rounded legal expertise.
Rebecca has over 15 years of legal experience with proven track records in the areas of securities issuance & capital markets, PE/VC investments and corporate and M&A. Her clients come from various industries, including real estate, education, retail, finance, fund management and TMT.
Rebecca obtained her Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the University of International Business and Economics and she obtained an EMBA from Guanghua School of Management, Peking University.
Rebecca advised on the establishment of Wellington College China in 2009 and has maintained a cooperative relationship with WCC ever since.
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Michael Xu
Bank of China International
Investment Banker
Michael Xu
Governor
Wellington College International Shanghai
Michael is an investment banker working at Bank of China International, where he provides a wide range of services, including IPO, M&A advisory, PE and debt financing to large financial institutions and fintech companies across mainland China and Hong Kong, with further exposures in sectors such as technology and healthcare.
He graduated from Imperial College London with BSc in Mathematics with Statistics for Finance and MSc in Risk Management & Financial Engineering. An Old Wellingtonian himself, Michael attended Wellington College in England from 2002 to 2007 as a member of Hill House, and he captained the basketball team. He currently lives in Shanghai with his wife and two daughters. His elder daughter attended Hiba Academy Shanghai, and his younger daughter now studies at the Wellington College International Shanghai Early Years Centre, where she has followed in her father's footsteps and joined Hill House.
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Dr. Joanna Waley-Cohen
NYU Shanghai
Provost
Dr. Joanna Waley-Cohen
Governor
Wellington College International Shanghai
Joanna Waley-Cohen is the Provost for NYU Shanghai and Julius Silver Professor of History at New York University, where she has taught Chinese history since 1992. As Provost, she serves as NYU Shanghai’s chief academic officer, setting the university’s academic strategy and priorities, and overseeing academic appointments, research, and faculty affairs.
She has a MA in Chinese Studies from Cambridge University and a PhD in History from Yale University. Her research interests include early modern Chinese history, China and the West, and Chinese imperial culture, especially in the Qianlong era. She has received many honors, including archival and postdoctoral fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies, Goddard and Presidential Fellowships from NYU, and an Olin Fellowship in Military and Strategic History from Yale.
Waley-Cohen's books include The Culture of War in China: Empire and the Military under the Qing Dynasty (I.B. Tauris, 2006), The Sextants of Beijing: Global Currents in Chinese History (W.W. Norton, 1999), and Exile in Mid-Qing China: Banishment to Xinjiang, 1758-1820 (Yale University Press, 1991). Her current scholarly projects include a revised history of imperialism in China, a study of daily life in China c.1800, and a history of culinary culture in early modern China.
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Benjamin Evans
The Wellington College
Deputy Head (Academic)
Benjamin Evans
Governor
Wellington College International Shanghai
Benjamin joined Wellington College in January 2022 as Deputy Head (Academic). Born in London, he attended St Paul’s School in Barnes and then Bedford School, where his father was Headmaster. He studied at Durham and Cambridge universities and has since become a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Benjamin has always been a teacher, teaching at Oundle School on two separate occasions and additionally at Haberdashers Aske’s Boys’ School, Shrewsbury School, and Prince Alfred College in Adelaide. He has recently taken up his third academic deputy headship and is very happy being ‘bridesmaid’ to James. Married to Victoria, they have a cat called Fonzie. Interests include music (he plays the oboe and piano), modern American literature, American football, the wines of Burgundy, Sherlock Holmes, and dinosaurs.
Benjamin is also a Governor of Wellington College International Shanghai.
