This year’s Leavers are a unique cohort. Their exam years were bookended by the sudden onslaught and eventual retreat of a global pandemic. In the years in between, they contended with postponements, lockdowns and a host of other disruptions — as if the IGCSE and IB exams were not already challenging enough!

Nevertheless, they demonstrated incredible resilience these past three years, and it ultimately paid off! This year’s Leavers received offers from some of the world’s best universities: Oxford, Cambridge, Caltech, Brown, the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, University College London, Imperial College London and more! We are also confident that their IB scores will be nothing short of impressive. 

The commencements began with a stirring performance of Ligeti’s Etude Nr. 4. Brendon Fulton, Master, Wellington College International Shanghai then approached the podium with some inspirational words for our Leavers:

 

 

“Don’t stop learning! Your most valuable lessons and achievements are not about maths or chemistry, but about life, friendships and finding your place in the world. When you reflect on your time at school, it will almost always be about these things — the friends you made, the mistakes you made, the lessons you learned and the impact you were able to make.”

Head of Sixth Form Martin O’Brien echoed this powerful sentiment: “Whilst university offers and IB scores are very important, it can be very easy to be ‘all consumed’ by these outcomes. Matter though they may, they are not the sole measure of success.” He went on to underscore the paramount importance of the content of their character. 

 

The Leavers ensemble set the tone of the day’s events with a rendition of the Bill Withers classic ‘Lean on Me’ — which is fast becoming a Wellington tradition — followed by Taylor Swift’s ‘Long Live’.

Wellington College China Founder and Chairman Joy Qiao was also present. She expressed her immense pride and hope for this impressive group of pupils, saying:

“Many of you have parents from different countries and have different backgrounds and upbringings. Many of you lived in different countries growing up. While this is common here at Wellington — that you take it for granted that you meet people from different countries who speak different languages, who prefer different foods and who believe in different gods — you should also know that this is not the case for the vast majority of the world’s population. The Wellington Community is a privileged one. And with such privilege comes great responsibilities. The world needs to find a way to unite as humans, resolving our differences through dialogue, communication, cultural tolerance and the ability to learn from each other. All of you here as Wellingtonians are uniquely positioned to do so.” 

 

 

Heads of College Kayla and Nick and other pupil representatives also offered their final parting words before our traditional Passing Out ceremony when our 2023 Leavers then went on to become Old Wellingtonians.

 

Congratulations to our Class of 2023. We are confident that each and every one of you will go on to accomplish amazing things, leading a life guided by the Wellington Values.