Senior and Upper Prep dive into Roald Dahl Day

For those of you unfamiliar with his work, Roald Dahl is a famous English author primarily known for his extremely popular children’s stories. Some of his best-known tales include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The BFG, The Witches and Matilda – the last of which has recently been transformed into a smash-hit musical by the Royal Shakespeare Company. This year, Wellington College International Shanghai has continued its tradition of celebrating Roald Dahl Day (which marks the great author’s birthday – the 13th of September). To get into the spirit of the day, pupils and staff in the Upper Prep school were invited to dress up as characters from Roald Dahl’s stories and many rose to the challenge admirably, resulting in some very impressive costumes. Different departments also got together to demonstrate links between their subjects using Roald Dahl’s tales. The English department had their pupils exploring the more monstrous aspects of Dahl’s writing, including challenging them to come up with their own unique monster descriptions. The maths department made full use of Dahl’s love for the disgusting, tasking their pupils with the collection and calculation of gruesome ingredients needed to make George’s Marvelous Medicine – a tricky challenge indeed! For many, the science lessons were a particular highlight; as they explored change of states via melting and reforming different sweet treats to create nutritionally balanced ‘marvelous creations’ worthy of Willy Wonka’s factory. Pupils also had the opportunity to bring in books they’d already read to receive a golden ticket from the library which they could swap for a new book. There were also some new books hidden around the school with a golden ticket inside for lucky pupils to take home. Senior School pupils also participated by hosting a 7-minute Dahl-themed activities for year 3 pupils during CCA time. The younger pupils were ushered from the BFG’s dream cave, to George’s kitchen where they made dream jars and marvelous (and very sparkly) medicines, after which they travelled to Willy Wonka’s factory for treasure hunts, drama and pass the parcel as well as enjoying a game of pairs on James’ Giant Peach. The preparation time put in by the seniors was commendable and it really paid off since the year 3 pupils all hugely enjoyed their exploration of Roald Dahl’s fantastical worlds. Annual celebrations of this nature represent an invaluable opportunity for creative learning and it was thrilling to see both staff and pupils getting so immersed in Roald Dahl’s works. His weird and wonderful characters brought to life with their imaginative efforts. The day’s themed lessons are a perfect example of how we can forge stronger connections between various subjects in our pupils’ minds, inspiring them to look at their learning from different perspectives while fostering a greater enthusiasm for attaining different kinds of knowledge. Look out for even more creative costumes, delightful descriptions and excellent experiments occurring across the College next September, when we will once again be paying homage to one of England’s greatest children’s authors. Charlotte Montague Head of English