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Wellington College International Pune, India, was proud to host its GRAND OPENING ceremony on 14 September 2023.
Wellington College International Pune is intended to be the first of several schools planned across India in partnership with the Unison Group. WCI Pune is a co-educational day and boarding school for 800 pupils between the ages of 2 and 18, established on a campus designed by MICA, an award-winning and leading British architectural firm. The school follows the Early Years Foundation Stage framework and the English National Curriculum.
Nestled on the banks of the Mula-Mutha River in Pune at Kharadi (Wagholi), Wellington College enjoys a lush, serene, and inspiring campus with state-of-the-art facilities.
The ceremony began with a traditional lezim dance by the Puneri ladies along with the traditional tutari. This fabulous performance escorted the dignitaries, pupils, parents and guests to the entrance of the school gate. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was performed with traditional chants and the auspicious blowing of the Shankha. The ribbon was cut by the owner and partner, Mr Anuj Aggarwal and his wife, along with our very own Mr James Dahl and the Founding Master, Dr Murray Tod. The pupils, parents, and guests proceeded towards the multi-purpose hall where the programme commenced by seeking blessings with the traditional lamp lighting and Ganesh Vandana.
All the guests were invited to take the stage where they declared the school open by unveiling the scroll!
Mr James Dahl took to the stage, expressing the excitement of WCI Pune being the eighth school in the Wellington College family of schools. He spoke highly of Pune city’s reputation as the ‘Oxford of the East’ and mentioned how the launch of the Pune school would be the biggest news this year for all Wellingtonians and well-wishers.
In his speech, he confirmed that, “Like India as a whole, and Wellington back in the UK, Pune is busy and fizzy, full of life and ambition, and the children educated here within this great city at this great school will become the leaders of tomorrow, serving and helping to shape a better world.
“We could not be more excited about the journey ahead, a journey of genuine partnership which we start together today; a partnership so genuine, in fact, that many of the staff here have been assembled from Wellington schools around the world.”
Mr Anuj Aggarwal addressed the audience, saying, “I am absolutely delighted to have reached this point, opening up our first school in India, with Wellington College as partners – they are world-leaders in educational provision and where they lead, others always follow. Correctly, they are very protective of their heritage and exceptional reputation, and we are all excited about how involved they are in the school’s development and how committed they are to quality assurance in every facet of our delivery. I find this very reassuring, and I am sure all parents and pupils will too.”
Dr Murray Tod delivered the vote of thanks. “Parental involvement must always be at the centre of our community, and I look forward to working with you all to develop the school and drive our progression forward. I hope you are all as proud as I am today and, as we rapidly open new parts of the school campus in the forthcoming months and look to build up year groups, I know that you will be as impressed and joyful as we are. Thank you to all our pioneering, founding families – we are so grateful to each one of you!
“To all my colleagues, senior leaders, and expert practitioners, and all our equally important non-academic team, well done to you all. Thank you for being so diligent and patient and illustrating such resilience. You have collectively been superb at creating the environment to open the school, and our best days are, of course, ahead. I have every confidence in your abilities to offer a first-class learning experience to all our pupils. Please join me in commending our Founding Team. Thank you also to the Ministry of Education and the Commissioner in Pune and Maharashtra. We are very grateful to you too!”
The pupils, parents and guests had a great time enjoying their refreshments along with the guests of honour on the school lawns, and all pupils were looking forward to their first year at Wellington College International Pune.
