Jodh is from the UK, he has just completed his first year at Wycombe Abbey School Hong Kong, successfully finishing the Year 1 syllabus under a COVID-19 hit academic year. Hear from Jodh’s parents on how their son managed to not merely adapt to, but excel throughout an online/offline learning year, whilst adapting to an all-new culture of Hong Kong.
Jodh, just completed his first year at WASHK
Jodh and his family
Father of Jodh - Deep：
Our family is originally from India, my grandfather came to Hong Kong in the 1950’s and made this place our home. I grew up in Hong Kong and left for school in the UK at the age of thirteen. So when a work opportunity in Wealth Management enticed me to move back to Hong Kong a few years ago, I felt it was the right thing to do, both for myself, as well as for our expanded family.
I benefitted from having an Indian heritage, Asian and European upbringing since young, and I firmly believe this type of exposure with multiple cultures whilst growing up will help with our children’s future, wherever they might be. Jodh was 4 when he moved from the UK to Hong Kong (together with our younger daughter Harneet), we successfully applied Jodh to Wycombe Abbey School Hong Kong, and after one full year, my wife and I know that we have chosen the right school for Jodh, and what an amazing school it is.
*Mother of Jodh - Gurjeet：
I am from Scotland and grew up in the Midlands. Having not lived in Asia myself, I didn’t know what to expect and was wary of forcing our kids to adapt to too many changes in their lives in one go. So, when it came to schooling, I wanted to find a seamless transition for them. We looked for a British Curriculum School in Hong Kong for Jodh so that he can feel at ease even when away from home.
How did we find Wycombe Abbey School Hong Kong?
*Father of Jodh - Deep：
Wycombe Abbey came into our search by chance. A teacher from the school happened to be buying fruits at my mother’s shop, and they exchanged name cards (as you do in Hong Kong), the card landed on my desk one day and I thought “maybe I will go see about the school”. The rest was history, it was almost as if it was fate in action.
WASHK Campus
At ease with diversity on campus
*Mother of Jodh - Gurjeet：
Jodh is the only Sikh at school, from the off, we had reservations about this, will he be identified as the odd one out, being the only “boy with a Turban”, will he fit in, or might he even be stigmatized etc?
All these worries were put to rest as soon as we met his class teacher, Mrs. Wood, who is from the UK and speaks some Cantonese!
She gave us all the reassurances required. She made Jodh feel right at home, exuded an all-embracing environment in class that celebrated diversity. Not only did Jodh not feel stressed for being unique, but he felt empowered to share his differences amongst his classmates! There were pupils from other countries as well, everyone gets on with each other irrespective of their race, religion or background.
Feeling energised with his classmates, Sebastian (left) and Aiden (right)
The year of COVID and the school's “Just get on with it” mentality
*Mother of Jodh - Gurjeet：
Because Hong Kong was under strict social distancing rules back in August 2020, Jodh joined WASHK remotely, every pupil had their first lesson online, meeting fellow classmates through iPads from home. We had no idea whether this would work, would 2020 be a year to simply write off altogether?
We were impressed by how the school was not fazed by the challenges from this curve ball the world has thrown at us, everyone at Wycombe Abbey just got on with it. Remote learning was not easy, and it took some getting used to at the beginning. However, we were surprised to witness how effectively Jodh was able to continue his learning under COVID, when end of term reports came through, we realised that the teachers all knew Jodh very well, and all this from not having met each other in person!
Jodh’s class teacher was especially helpful, she was always responsive to our questions, and really went the distance to help us.
"For example, remote learning meant a lot of printing of worksheets and materials from home, but since we were new to Hong Kong, we hadn’t set up a printer at home yet. The class teacher offered to help print for us and made the printouts available for picking up at school reception.
Another example was at the end of the school year, the school collated all of Jodh’s work from school into one big folder and send it back to the parents. We sat down together and went through all of his work, this gave us a real insight to what Jodh’s experience was like, needless to mention, this folder is our keepsake now. "
It was all these tiny noticeable things throughout our experience that really helped, and more importantly, supported Jodh to thrive.
Knowing the child's personality, help unlock his potential
*Mother of Jodh - Gurjeet：
Since Jodh joined WASHK, we have seen his overall development kicking into another gear.
Jodh is quite competitive, he likes to be first in many things (first to complete his work, first to arrive at school etc.). His teachers are fully aware of his personality, what makes him tick, and leverage these unique traits to motivate Jodh to further his learning and growth.
We are also very happy to share that WASHK enables us to live a routine that is consistent with our family values. Jodh normally returns home and immediately completes his homework, (yes, he has homework even in Year 1, but not too much), then we have supper at 6 p.m., followed with some family play time with his younger sister Harneet until bedtime at 8 p.m.
*Father of Jodh - Deep：
I am an early riser, so I am really happy to return from morning gym session to see Jodh already rock ‘n’ rolling getting ready for another full day at school. I can’t wait for Harneet to be old enough to join her elder brother at WASHK, and would definitely recommend other parents to consider sending their children to Wycombe Abbey School Hong Kong.