We understand that some of the children applying to Huili may have attended local schools where they may not have had much exposure to the English language. Whilst we will require all children to have an age-appropriate basic level of English, we will be offering places to children who can demonstrate an all-round potential for academic achievement, individual and family engagement towards learning English, a wide and interesting variety of interests and age appropriate social skills.

At Wellington College China, we define ‘bilingualism’ as the ability to make a seamless transition between the two languages of instruction. A bilingual person can read, write, understand, think and speak in the two languages without hindrance at all levels. They are able to make the intercultural and linguistic transitions seamlessly, whether it be for study, business or leisure. Bilingual leaners think, dream and tell jokes in the two languages

Every child will differ in terms of the progress that they make with their language development and improvement depends on a wide range of factors. For a child starting Huili in Grade 1 with a basic level of English and a limited amount of exposure to English outside of school, it would be reasonable to expect them to be proficient in English by the end of primary school and bilingual by the end of junior high.