The first British Heritage school in Indonesia is finally here!
There’s a new international school in town – and it’s a special one. The esteemed Wellington College International has officially established its first-ever branch school in Indonesia, namely the Wellington College Independent School Jakarta. Indonesia Expat has a chance to get to know its founding head of school, Christine Haslett, as she shared her incredible journey as an educator that took her from Northern Ireland to Indonesia, why students and their parents can expect the very best of British education from this brand-new institution, and why modern education should be all about developing students into becoming ‘amazing human beings’.
Hi Christine! Let’s get started by introducing yourself a bit. What can you tell us about yourself?
I’m the founding head of school at Wellington College Independent School Jakarta, and I’ve been in education for 20 years now. I’m originally from Belfast City in Northern Ireland, where I began my studies. I took a music major at university, and actually, I didn’t want to be a teacher. But the whole way through my childhood, everybody said to me, ‘You’re going to be a teacher.’ And then when I finished my music studies, I did my teaching qualification. And then, as it turned out later, I really was going to be a teacher – because I absolutely ended up loving being a teacher!
Wellington College Independent School Jakarta is the first school in Indonesia that has been established by Wellington College International. Can you tell us briefly about the journey leading up to this brand-new school?
It’s been quite a detailed process, actually. So I was recruited about this time last year by the Wellington team. I was familiar with Wellington College International and their reputation for high-quality education. As soon as I was recruited, the planning for opening the Wellington College Independent School Jakarta commenced. I was immediately involved with the meetings with the architects, with the design of the school premise, making sure that the building reflects the philosophy of the Wellington education, connecting with the other head teachers of Wellington from all around the world, as well as visiting the Wellington College in the UK to make sure that I really understood the Wellington legacy. It’s got about 190 years of history behind it, so it’s very important that I make sure that all of that lovely DNA is also absolutely sewn into the Wellington College Independent School Jakarta.
Is there a particular reason why Wellington College International decided to have the Wellington College Independent School Jakarta situated in BSD City, Tangerang?
BSD City is, I may say, the innovative living of the future. The city’s philosophy for sustainability really married well with the Wellington philosophy for sustainable schools of the future. Furthermore, looking at how BSD City is organised, it’s got a certain amount of efficiency as well as an incredible amenity development.
I imagine that being a founding head of school at a brand-new school, despite the reputation of Wellington College International, must be pretty daunting. So, personally speaking, what ultimately encouraged you to take up this role?
This is my first time working in Indonesia, but it’s actually my second time opening a brand-new school. Way back when, I opened a very prestigious – and now high-performing and successful – school in Shanghai, and I loved it so much that I ended up staying there for eight years. When opening a brand-new school, we may reach the point where the school ends up working so beautifully and the students are performing fantastically. Afterwards, you would realise that that’s really what this is all about, and that you get to leave behind a fairly established community. It is definitely a tough but rewarding experience.
From my research, I gathered that there are five core values of being a Wellingtonian: courage, respect, integrity, kindness, and responsibility. Can you elaborate more about why these values are important, especially for the students here at Wellington College Independent School Jakarta?
Wellington College is truly the pioneer of education. They’ve pushed the boundaries of what education is, and now, more and more people are actually questioning what the point of education going forward is. The world really has changed, and the two biggest disruptors so far have been climate change and technology. Education used to be for the sake of preparing children for work, but now, education must be able to prepare children to be amazing human beings. With everything being automated and ‘taken over by robots,’ as my students once said, what’s left for us, then? Well, what is left for us is to be contributors to society, to have high levels of personal responsibility, to show great integrity, to be extremely courageous about the decisions that are going to need to be made in the future, and to be unbelievably kind to one another.
I’ve also gathered that Wellington College Independent School Jakarta also champions holistic education. What does that mean exactly?
We absolutely are an academic school, but it’s not the only thing that we do. We talk about realising their potential. We want them to be able to try absolutely everything. It’s about finding the child’s real passion, and holistic education is also about the many, many things that contribute to the whole being of the child. In addition, holistic education is about a child’s well-being as well as their spiritual and cultural development.
As the founding head of school, what is going to be your number one priority for this year?
Forming a community. When it comes to busy cities like Jakarta and BSD City, a school has to be easily accessible, familiar, warm, and welcoming. We, as educators new in town, will need to spend time and connect with people. If people aren’t connected and they aren’t related to each other in a very meaningful way, that would affect their children’s school experience as well.
For our readers who are probably parents themselves, what can they expect from Wellington College Independent School Jakarta?
I think they can expect the very best of British education, as well as the teaching of strong values like respect and kindness. Respect is very important in British society. Respect means thinking of others before yourself. It also means putting other people’s needs before yours. With kindness, students can develop a global perspective. And all of that sits in, as I mentioned before, 190 years of tried-and-tested holistic programmes of learning courtesy of Wellington College.
For the interested parents, is there any open house or such that you can reveal at the moment?
Yes, for sure. We are planning to host a tour around the building premises of Wellington College Independent School Jakarta for parents of prospective students in April. As part of the tour, we’ll have some model classrooms set up as well.
Lastly, how can our readers and parents reach you and Wellington College Independent School Jakarta?
You can schedule a face-to-face consultation with us via our website at wellingtoncollege.sch.id. Moreover, you can find out more about our activities at Wellington College Independent School Jakarta via the social media platform Instagram @wellingtoncollegeindonesia.