Alice Wu
Head of School, St John's College School Nanjing
In my capacity as Head of School for St John’s College School, Cambridge, Nanjing Meizhiguo Kindergarten, I sincerely welcome you to our website which I hope you will useful in finding out more about our school. I would be delighted to welcome you to visit our school soon.
During my first visit to St John’s College School in Cambridge, I was truly amazed at seeing this prestigious, yet understated school. The politeness of the children, the respect between them and their teachers, the children’s exceptional learning ability, the enthusiasm and devotion of the staff and the environment of inclusive shared learning, are all examples of the school’s finest attributes. All our staff here in China are honoured to be able to introduce this school, from the small and tranquil city of Cambridge which has been described as ‘a school where children are magically happy’ and bring it to the city that is the centre of China’s early years’ development, Nanjing. We are not out of the ordinary, we simply implement St John’s way of educating. We firmly believe that every child is unique and we look forward to helping each and every child become their best selves.
At St John’s, children are given abundant opportunity to discover; curiosity, thinking, trying, failing, reflecting, collating, enjoying…all essential elements to development that we will ensure are always part and parcel of our children’s learning journey.
In this truly international community, children develop their own views and values by drawing on the different cultural mix of Chinese and international teachers within a bilingual environment.
Here at St John’s, children are the principal agent of their learning. During Independent Learning, teachers do not have a set lesson plan, rather they adjust their teaching in the moment according to the children’s requirements and interest; this child-led learning is a corner stone to St John’s educational aims.
We believe that education at its best is a deep act of care. Rather than merely cultivating an ability to learn, we focus on a child’s happiness and well-being; if they are happy, they will learn. All our school’s staff devote their attention on helping children manage their own difficulties and worries. In as much as the Emotions for Learning programme is an important part of our education, it indeed forms the foundation of our school culture. The sole pastoral care system we employ is to ensure that we care for every element of our children’s lives and to make St John’s the safest and most comfortable place for our children to be.
The foundation of education is to establish a child’s future as if each child is a seed ready to grow. We provide a holistic education that gives support to all aspects of life in accordance with our educational ethos and values on life so that our children can capture every one of life’s moments to take advantage of their educational opportunities. At the same time, we will provide continued and regular communication with parents, so that we can work together to provide the environment from which our little seeds will grow forth and develop into their best selves.
Education is one of common development, a shared journey of improvement for all and I look forward to starting the journey with you!
Alice Wu
Head of School, St John’s College School, Cambridge, Nanjing, Meizhiguo Kindergarten
Sandy Lennox
Foreign Head of School, St John's College School Nanjing
Welcome to St John’s College School Nanjing. In my role as Foreign Head of School, I am responsible for implementing our English language learning into the curriculum and ensuring we maintain a close relationship between our school in Nanjing and Cambridge.
English is more than just a subject we teach here at St John's Nanjing; it is an integral part of our children’s daily life. Our children learn English in an immersive bilingual learning environment with opportunities of using English all day throughout their independent learning, specialist lessons and even eating lunch! Children develop their communication skills in English alongside their Mandarin language through close contact with their dedicated class English Teaching Assistant who will be with them throughout their academic year as they care for them and assist them in their learning. We use a range of communication tools to aid comprehension allowing children to express themselves competently when they might have a worry regardless of language ability. Our teachers are trained to develop close attachments with our children so that they feel safe and loved in order to allow their learning and development to flourish.
I have spent a long time working at St John’s College School in Cambridge, learning about their ethos and values, and have been working closely with the senior team to develop a new curriculum, teacher developmental programme and Emotions for Learning programme that will be unique to China and sensitive to our children’s needs. I look forward to welcoming you to our school and introducing you to the 'Way of St John’s', here in Nanjing.