IAPS School in the Spotlight – Kensington Wade
21st February 24
IAPS School in the Spotlight – Kensington Wade:
Today’s School in the Spotlight is Kensington Wade in West London. Kensington Wade is a fully immersive bilingual school, teaching the National Curriculum in which half of the pupils’ lessons are taught in Chinese and the other in English – some classes are taught in Spanish as well! The school is working towards pupils sitting their GCSE in Chinese in Year 5 and potentially in Spanish in Year 6. The school is only 7 Years old, and its Year 6 pupils, many of whom have been with Kensington Wade from the beginning have worked very hard and developed into amazing people and shining lights for the future.
The school’s new STEAM room has facilitated the cross-curricular use of robotics, VR, 3D printing, engineering and computer aided design across all year groups. The school’s cultural programme will culminate for the first time in an 11-day educational visit across China for Year 6 pupils this May.
The happiness and wellbeing of pupils is a huge priority at Kensington Wade and the school has an open and caring culture. Staff work extremely closely with families to make sure that their children feel safe and valued. The school has a mentor system and pupils are tasked with ensuring their house mates and buddies have someone to talk to about anything. The mental health and wellbeing of the staff at Kensington Wade is equally important. There is a mentor system for new staff members, partnering them with senior staff to support them in their first year.
The gifts of a bilingual education are clear to see. The bilingual brain increases the mental flexibility of pupils and their ability to switch between tasks, coupled with problem-solving skills gives them an academic advantage.
Team working and negotiating skills are all highly developed. These qualities create a supportive, empathetic environment that promotes wellbeing and empathy. Put this all together and the result is happy children empowered to be at their best and take on the exciting challenges of life.
