Join Parents Q&A Session for Dulwich Shanghai Campuses (Part 2)
Dulwich College Shanghai campuses in Puxi and Pudong were delighted to welcome more than 940 parents who joined us on Sunday for a live session Q&A about studying at our campuses in Puxi and Pudong.
The session held was specifically about our unique university counselling pathway starting from Year 7 and was hosted by Director of University, Kathleen Schultz along with Puxi and Pudong Heads of Colleges, David Ingram and Caroline Taylor.
This Sunday at 2:00pm, we have another Dulwich session about the Dulwich Wellbeing programme. Parents will have the opportunity to meet with our Senior School Director of Community Wellbeing Mr. Peter Rogers and Assistant Head of Key Stage One Mr. Tony Pickhaver along with a Q&A session with the Heads of College Mr. David Ingram from Puxi Campus and and Head of Junior School Ms. Victoria Foster from the Pudong Campus.
Following here, are some of the fantastic questions that parents raised in the online Q&A session, together with answers from our Dulwich leaders.
Q: When should my children start planning for university applications?
A: Dulwich College Shanghai has a proven track record getting students into their first choice universities, and we are extremely proud of our university counsellors and our university preparation process.
Dulwich College Shanghai supports students throughout the university application process. The University Counselling Team fully engage with students in their university preparation by offering: University Guidance from Year 7 to Year 13; Identify goals for now and in the future; Encourage to explore their potential and Advice to identify career choices to assist with IBDP.
Q: Can you please introduce more details about your school’s University Counselling programme?
A: Our university counselling programme is well established with a proven record of success and starts from Year 7 when students are aged 11/12.
We have a strong framework in place that not only prepares students for their university applications, but also for life beyond university and in the wider world.
Year 7/8
For these early years, the focus is on getting students to start thinking about their future plans and start setting goals. As their academic and extracurricular interests develop, the Counsellors introduce the idea of learning styles and details about career clusters and pathways of interest, identifying possible careers that match their personality types and finding the best post-secondary options for those careers.
Year 9
Towards the end of Year 9, the Counsellors help students to use this information to reflect and choose IGCSE subjects that they will then follow for the next two years.
Year 10-13
Starting in Year 10, the counsellors continue to meet with every student in classes and individually with increasing regularity.
In Year 10 and Year 11, career education and planning for the International Baccalaureate (IB) course choices are part of the curriculum as well as how to make the most of Dulwich College Shanghai and the last four years. Counsellors assist students in making more deliberate choices in their activities and how to identify and focus on combining skills and passions while participating in the different options of an enrichment programme that exist in both the summer and throughout the school year.
The emphasis in Years 10 and 11 is on setting and achieving your goals and working towards your individual best. Before students take their IGCSE exams, they meet with the Counsellors in conjunction with the IB Coordinator on choosing their International Baccalaureate Diploma subjects, the curriculum they will follow for Years 12 and 13.
Q: How can my child stand out from a competitive crowd?
A: Young people from China make up the largest number of international students worldwide, and ensuring our students can stand out as individuals confidently and authentically is a key part of what we do.
University representatives unanimously report,
“We’re looking for students who are curious about the world around them. We like students who ask the questions other students don’t ask. We’re looking for the innovators — the students who take things as they are and make something new out of them.”
“So much of students’ time is spent in front of adults and in school and structured activities that it is sometimes difficult for them to switch the dutiful part of them off and the creative part of them on.”
At Dulwich College Shanghai, we start this process of self-assessment and awareness through a university counselling lens as early as Year 7 (11 years old). It takes time to cultivate the initiative, intellectual curiosity, independence and innovativeness that will be the foundation for life outside the classroom. By Year 12 (age 17), the activities that remain on their busy schedules are the ones to highlight in a university application.
Our alumni have included doctors, lawyers, vets, engineers, bio technicians, as well as filmmakers, fashion designers, musicians, astrophysicists, psychologists. But it’s not the course they study at university that makes them stand out, it’s the confidence and strength of character, resilience and care for people that sets them apart from the competition.
Q: What university admissions events does your school organise for your students?
A: Dulwich College Shanghai Pudong proudly hosts over 100 individual and small group university visits a year, especially from the US, Europe, UK and Australia. Dulwich has a strong global reputation, and university admissions officers welcome the chance to visit us and meet our students, who are in high demand.
As most of the students study outside China after Senior School, it is important that they get a chance to meet with prospective university representatives.
We always welcome parents who are interested in applying for Dulwich to visit our campuses and see our classes in session. Our Puxi campus is running virtual tours for families to meet teachers and see classes in action. Parents are welcome to send questions to our Admissions teams in Puxi or Pudong, who will happily help answer your questions.
Please scan the QR code to contact our Admissions teams.
