Belinda, a 2024 graduate of Wycombe Abbey School Hong Kong, is now thriving at Badminton School in the UK. Reflecting on her time at Wycombe Abbey, she shares how the school’s academic and extracurricular programmes prepared her for life abroad, fostered her passions, and equipped her with invaluable skills. From debate to coding, her experiences continue to influence her achievements and personal growth. Read on to discover Belinda’s inspiring journey in her own words.

How did Wycombe Abbey School Hong Kong prepare you for your next steps?

“Wycombe Abbey helped me get used to the UK school curriculum, giving me a headstart to what school life in the UK feels like.”

What skills or values from your time at Wycombe Abbey have been most valuable?

“I value everything that I learnt at Wycombe Abbey, but I value the skills I learnt during my I-STEAM lessons the most, as those skills have come in handy now that I go to a boarding school and have to solve problems myself. I-STEAM lessons have helped enhance my ability to solve problems in creative ways.”

Did the school’s extracurricular programmes help you discover any passions or strengths?

I was part of the debate team and joined a coding competition, and these extracurricular programmes helped me discover my hobbies, such as coding in my free time, and enjoying debates about a variety of topics such as politics, the future and much more.

Furthermore, being part of the debate team helped me improve my English massively as we had to use powerful and persuasive language and made me feel more confident with speaking in front of a large audience as well as being able to structure and write a speech on my own.

The coding competitions I had been a part of had been a vital part of my personal growth, as I had learnt from it that you don’t always have to solve problems on your own, and there is always someone, such as a teammate or a mentor to help you along the way.”

What achievements or new passions have you pursued since leaving Wycombe Abbey?

“After leaving Wycombe Abbey, I have gone on and achieved a lot. Throughout Year 9, I have joined a few competitions in the UK, such as the Intermediate Maths Challenge where I achieved a silver certificate, the Flying Start Challenge whereas a team of four, we had to build a glider in a limited time and launch it. Although my team didn’t make it through to the next round, I have improved my ability to work with others and share opinions.

I had also participated in the Enterprise Day hosted at school, where with my team we had to create a successful business together. During the challenge, we faced difficulties with starting our business, but at the end we solved our problems with our creativity and placed top 3 within our year group.

During my time at Badminton, I had also participated in the foundation level of the Linguistics Olympiad. Although I didn’t receive a certificate, the experience showed me how powerful languages can be.

This year at Badminton, I had the opportunity to be part of the school’s E-communications committee, where I have learnt a lot about online communication and safety about the internet, and delivered a whole school assembly with the committee together for the ‘2025 Safer Internet Day’.

I have also found new hobbies and things that I enjoy during my free time here at Badminton. I have participated in four rounds of the SW schools Bouldering League, and I am part of the early morning running club. I regularly run in the mornings about once or twice a week and my proudest achievement in running is completing the Blaise Castle Parkrun in under 32 minutes.

Whether our graduates choose to study abroad like Belinda or continue their educational journey at our new Senior School, they carry with them the skills, values and determination to thrive in any path they choose.