Kensington Wade, the first dual language English Chinese prep school in the UK is set to open in London 2017.
The school will be the first of its kind and has been founded by independent school expert, Adrian Richardson, founder principal of the Cothill Trust, together with Professor Hugo de Burgh, a leading authority on China and cultural relations between China and the UK.
The desire to open a school of this kind has been founded on the belief that future generations of British opinion formers and decision makers will benefit greatly from learning Chinese at an early age and therefore be able to operate in a world in which Chinese will continue to have a strong influence on business, politics and international affairs. Kensington Wade will open its doors in September 2017 to give a head start to youngsters, the nursery department will open in April 2017 for children aged between 2 and 4.
Hugo de Burgh said, “Learning Chinese opened another world to me, enriching my life and giving me opportunities I would never otherwise have had. Now I want the next generation to have the same, only earlier. I am delighted to be opening the first immersion dual language English Chinese school in Western Europe and to be able to offer children the opportunity to be educated in two wonderful cultures and education systems. We will instil in our pupils a thirst for enterprise, initiative and creativity balanced with academic excellence, social skills and high cultural empathy”.
Kensington Wade will offer an immersive bilingual education from ages 3 to 13 with a curriculum informed by the successes of both English and Chinese educational cultures. Pupils will be qualified for either the leading British independent schools or the Chinese school system. The school will not only offer dual language education, but also immerse the children in Chinese culture; for example martial arts as part of the sports programme, calligraphy as part of the arts programme and ‘maths mastery’ in the academic mix.
Kensington Wade will be the first school in what is expected to become a global movement to develop a new exemplar for the education of young children. With a rigorous academic start and entry into the best senior schools, Kensington Wade alumni will be on track to go to those leading international institutions that provide the best future opportunities.
Adrian Richardson said, “In my nearly fifty years of launching and running pre-prep and prep schools, I have been fortunate to see how education has changed and adapted to be as effective as possible including the bilingual Sauveterre, which was the first attempt by an English preparatory school to learn a foreign language by immersion. Albeit for one term only. Learning from the Chinese educational system is just a part of this and the benefits of a bilingual education are invaluable”.
The school will be based in a brand new, state of the art building on Kensington High Street with a 685sq m. sports hall, unusual for such a central London location and a roof top terrace garden for the playground.
Registration for the school is open now and please contact www.kensingtonwade.com for more information.
