Principal’s Message
Issue date:2018-08-01I hope that your visit to our website will capture your imagination, give you an insight into this amazing place and stimulate your desire to become involved. Nothing can compare to a visit to a UWC and none more so than a visit to UWC Changshu China!
At UWC Changshu China we are committed to a vision of education that guides and inspires us. It is a vision that challenges young people to reach beyond their perceived potential to become catalysts of change, empowered with the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to make a positive difference in our precious world. We provide the opportunity for highly motivated young people from diverse backgrounds to learn hard in and out of the classroom, to transcend the boundaries of race, ethnicity, class, caste, gender and nationality, to develop a critical consciousness of the issues and causes of division in our world and through their UWC experience to achieve unprecedented global connections.
UWC Changshu China is not intended to be an easy option and only the most capable students are admitted. The challenges are meaningful and the expectations high. Students, aged between 15 -19, accepted on the full time UWC programme, commit themselves to a demanding range of experiences, from intellectually challenging academic classes, to engaging with the complexities of the 21st Century, to designing innovative solutions to problems and developing an entrepreneurial outlook. Their "age of idealism" and our highly selective admissions criteria enable us to challenge our students with freedom and accountability, allowing them to make and learn from their mistakes in a controlled environment. It is an immensely rewarding and fulfilling opportunity for young idealists, aware of the need for change and motivated to act through personal example and leadership.
UWC Changshu China is ideally located to provide a particular focus on China's place in the global context. We provide an iFnspiring mix of opportunity and challenge for our full-time students who benefit from the spectacular Yushan Academy. The Yushan Academy has a focus on China and specifically on Language, Culture, Design and Innovation "to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future", offering a variety of short courses, teacher training workshops and seminars fostering an understanding of design, creativity, an entrepreneurial spirit, and Chinese language and cultural programmes.
Those who visit UWC Changshu China discover the friendly and dynamic atmosphere that makes it a remarkable place. UWC Changshu China offers a remarkable window on to the world for Chinese students and a window in to China for our foreign students. An air of purposefulness abounds which, together with an appreciation of privilege, a determination to succeed, an opportunity to meet others who are different and the desire to enjoy life, characterise the college. This ethos allows us to discover the meaning of the words of the ideological founder of the UWC movement, Kurt Hahn, who said we are capable of achieving much more than we think possible! That is the overriding message we wish to communicate to everyone we meet and which we would like to share with you if you come to visit.
Pelham Lindfield Roberts
Principal