Sharing student experiences through a unique mentoring scheme

An exciting partnership has been developing over the last two terms through a new mentoring scheme which has been set up between Wellington College Bangkok and Wellington College UK.

As the Year 9 students here in Bangkok are the most senior year in the School, we have collaborated with students from Wellington College in the UK to mentor our Year 9s with the choices and experiences they will encounter as they progress up through the School.

Iain Henderson, Deputy Head (Educational Developments and Partnerships) at Wellington College explains the motivation behind the scheme:

“We wanted to set up a genuine partnership between Year 9 students in Bangkok and Year 13 students in Wellington College that would mirror what would happen when our Wellington College Bangkok is full, and they have a Year 13 cohort of their own.

Through a series of ongoing one-to-one conversations, Year 13 students mentor and guide Year 9s in Bangkok through all sorts of things which are coming up. It could be about IGCSE choices, university pathways, or their broader interests and passions – in much the same way that would happen in the boarding houses and the day houses at Wellington College in the UK”.

Year 13 Wellington College students in the UK applied to be part of the mentoring scheme and were selected via an interview process. Having been selected, mentors underwent training in safeguarding, mentoring, listening, and questioning. The scheme is, therefore, highly beneficial to the mentor as well as the mentee in developing transferable skills and leadership experience, which will help them as they progress.

Stewart Findlay, Head of Humanities at Wellington College Bangkok commented: “This is a fantastic opportunity to work with students who went through the same experience three or four years ago. They know what it is like first-hand to choose courses, to look at university options further down the line and what will work for them as individuals. This sort of scheme is made possible due to the close relationship we have with Wellington College in the UK”.

And it is this close bond between the two Wellington Schools which is so exciting and rewarding for the students involved. Iain remarks that “our senior students are really excited to be part of this scheme, they are intrigued to find out what it is like to be at Wellington College in Bangkok, they want to form really genuine links with students and furthermore, they are genuinely altruistic – they keen to help and they are excited to be supporting our Year 9s in Wellington Bangkok as they progress through their School”.