We Are Wellington| Building character, finding direction

Victoria Doamekpor joined Wellington Shanghai private school in its second year and is the proud mother of Aaliyaa and Ezekiel. As part of our on-going We are Wellington series, we ask our wider Wellington community — staff members, parents and pupils — to share their experiences of the College and talk about what makes Wellington special to them. Vicki joins us to share how Wellington has been so instrumental to the growth and personal development of her children. 

Looking to the year ahead 

This is my daughter Aaliyaa's first year of IGCSE courses, and she is very excited to expand her knowledge in the subjects that she has chosen. She looks forward to spending two consecutive years with her teachers, getting to know them and allowing them to get to know her as a learner too. My son, Ezekiel, is now in year 7 and is also very excited about his new subjects. He has chosen Spanish for his modern foreign language and also computer science.

Building character through co-curricular activities 

When we moved to Wellington, my son, Ezekiel, immediately threw himself into football, and it has been an important part of his life ever since. He was chosen for the Primary FOBISIA team two years in a row and thoroughly loved the trip in 2019. Last academic year, he also participated in the Phuket football trip, which he also loved. I think by taking part in these teams and going abroad he has gained a significant amount of confidence and independence. He has matured in a way that he probably would not have if he did not have these opportunities.

Aaliyaa had been eager to learn a musical instrument for quite a few years. When we first came to Wellington I was finally able to make that happen. We looked at the list of musical instruments on offer here, she chose the clarinet, and immediately embraced learning the instrument with passion. In year 6, she performed in her first Prep musical, Bugsy Malone, and since then has taken part in Peter Pan, Shrek and Joseph and the Amazing Technicoloured Dreamcoat. Her confidence has grown, and she loves being on stage, singing, dancing and acting. Last year, she applied and was successfully awarded a full music scholarship for voice and clarinet. Being a scholar has opened up further opportunities for her, and last academic year, she travelled with other music scholars to Vietnam to take part in music FOBISIA, which was an amazing experience for her.

Forging friendships, building confidence 

Both of my children have gained a considerable amount of confidence from their friends. They both have strong friendship groups that encourage them to take part in teams, such as the football team and swim team, as well as other events such as Have to Dance and musical auditions. Aaliyaa's friends are academically encouraging as well, and this has really pushed her to strive for academic excellence.

Finding direction 

Wellington is really equipping my children for the future, especially in terms of their independence. They are gaining the confidence to organise themselves correctly, to plan what they need to do in their lessons and to think further ahead in terms of where they are going from here. In Senior School, Aaliyaa is taught a lot about future careers and subject choices related to them, and, even though she is 14, she already has a career path in mind. It makes me think back to when I was 14. I certainly did not know that I wanted to be a teacher. To have a really clear idea of where you want to go when you are still a teenager is really important to help you develop the skills that will help you get to where you want to go.

Growth experiences 

The progress my two children have made over the years is remarkable. When we first joined Wellington, Ezekiel was six years old, and he has developed so much. We actually came from the Netherlands, and formal schooling does not start there until year 2. He arrived into year 2 at Wellington not being able to read English and he did not even know how to hold a pencil! I look back now and think how much he has grown as a learner in the past five years. He is now hard working and motivated, and thoroughly enjoys learning and developing. I think he gets a lot of that from his sister. She is a very good role model in terms of her academic rigour.

One of the key strengths of Wellington is the House system. Aaliyaa started at Wellington in year 5, when this year group was part of Upper Prep. She was among the youngest pupils in this area of the Prep School. As she advanced through the years, she benefited from the mentorship of the older pupils. During her time in the prep school, she held numerous leadership positions including deputy head of house and prefect. With these roles, she was then able to nurture the younger pupils and gain valuable leadership skills and experience. Now in year 10, she has the confidence to apply for more leadership positions where she can use these skills and experience further.