Our History
Our Partner School: Wellington College, Crowthorne, UK
(Motto: Virtutis Fortuna Comes, or Fortune Favours the Brave)
Wellington College is one of the great independent co-educational boarding schools in Britain. Situated in the sleepy Berkshire village of Crowthorne, thirty miles from London, the College was founded by Queen Victoria in 1859 as the national memorial to the Duke of Wellington, the country’s outstanding military leader in the Napoleonic Wars and immortalised as the victor in the battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Queen Victoria wanted the College to embody the ideals of service displayed by the Duke of Wellington, and 
consequently loyalty, dedication and service to others have always been central to the ethos of the College. Over the years Wellington has maintained very close links with the royal family and the current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is the College’s Visitor. On a recent visit to Wellington in 2009, she took great interest in the plans for the opening of Wellington College International Tianjin.
The distinctive buildings at Wellington College, described by experts as ‘French Grand Rococo’, were designed by John Shaw Jr., chosen for the task by Queen Victoria’s consort, Prince Albert, who had been impressed with his work for the Royal Naval School in London. Shaw’s buildings dominate the picturesque 400-acre estate and are the inspiration for the design of Wellington Tianjin.
With around 950 boys and girls, Wellington College UK is fully co-educational and has consistently achieved excellence both in and out of the classroom. All students are encouraged to pursue their goals with self-belief and ambition, while seeking out those areas in which they can excel, supported by the highly-committed staff and the outstanding facilities at their disposal. The College has also in recent years, particularly since the arrival of Dr Anthony Seldon as Master in 2006, been at the forefront of educational thinking and innovation. Amongst many new ideas are the embracing of the International Baccalaureate programmes, basing the school curriculum on the eight aptitudes and using the Harkness method of teaching where students take responsibility for their own learning. Wellington College is now generally recognised as one of the strongest schools academically in Britain. We have already brought many of these exciting initiatives to Wellington College International Tianjin.
A strong sense of community pervades all aspects of life at Wellington and the traditional house structure means that every student has a secure base in the school. Within their houses, the students are supported by an expert pastoral 
team, centred on the housemaster or housemistress, all of whom strive to engender a family atmosphere. The College seeks to develop this in all possible ways and has received considerable acclaim for introducing ‘happiness lessons’ to the curriculum, everybody believing that enjoying school is an, if not the, essential element in making a success of the few formative years spent at school.
Wellington was one of the twenty-one founding members of the Rugby Football Union and the College has a deserved reputation for excelling at rugby union, though students also participate, often with conspicuous success, in a wide range of sports at the school. Stimulating teaching and a broad range of opportunities ensure that the visual and performing arts flourish too, and once again students benefit from the very best in facilities.
Eagle House, Wellington’s preparatory school, occupies an adjoining site and has over three hundred children, aged from three to thirteen. The school enjoys an impressive local reputation for its balance of excellent classroom teaching with a wide array of extra-curricular activities, while the high level of pastoral support has created an enviable ‘family’ atmosphere, all of which are goals for the Nursery and Junior School at Wellington Tianjin.
There are many proposals, some of them already being implemented, for bringing genuine meaning and substance to the links between Wellington UK and Wellington Tianjin. There are two members representing Wellington UK on the Wellington Tianjin governing body, including Dr Seldon, ensuring the greatest possible coherence between the two schools at all levels. There are numerous plans for developing the relationship, notably staff and students exchanges, common in-service training initiatives and interactive classes for students of both schools. Not least there are striking similarities between the two schools, not forgetting Eagle House, in uniforms, house names and traditions, institutional language and in fact everything that goes into producing a common ethos and two caring, friendly and purposeful school environments over five thousand miles apart.
Learn More About Wellington College http://www.wellingtoncollege.org.uk/