This summer, students traveled from Shanghai to Beijing to Winchester, journeying through three schools (WLSA Shanghai Academy, Tsinghua University High School, and Winchester College) and centuries of history, all within one exciting program of leadership training, cultural immersion and academic study.
Shanghai
Shanghai is where it all began, and the first few days stayed close to campus. Students moved into their houses, met tutors, and settled in — the kind of start that matters more than it looks like, since these were the groups they'd spend the next few weeks with.
The mornings were about the Self-Development Program and Leadership modules, giving the group something to build on before the pace picked up. A visit to SAIC, one of China's largest automotive manufacturers, put the industry side of their coursework in front of them, on the factory floor rather than in a classroom, offering a firsthand look at large-scale manufacturing in action. A day at Shanghai Jiao Tong University added a valuable university perspective, and an AI Practical Day had students writing and performing short theatrical scripts, using AI tools as part of the process rather than the entirety.
Beijing
Beijing was all about shifting the focus from leadership training to cultural and architectural heritage, encapsulated by both the Forbidden City and Tsinghua University. The opening ceremony and a campus tour of Tsinghua set the stage, followed immediately by a deep dive into the Forbidden City's paintings and the East-West cultural exchange that they represent.
Over the following days, students examined the Forbidden City from multiple angles: its imperial palace planning and architecture, its wooden construction and decorative arts, and the science behind cleaning and preserving its ancient surfaces. A guided group tour and a visit to the National Library of China, including its Qianlong Garden digital exhibition, rounded out the historical thread. Hands-on learning featured prominently, with three sessions of Tangyang, the intangible cultural heritage practice of building imperial architectural models, alongside traditional games and a dumpling-making session.
Winchester
The final leg of the journey took students to England, opening with a tour of central London that covered the British Museum, Big Ben, the Palace of Westminster, Trafalgar Square and more.
At Winchester College, the days that followed were built around the CATALYST Workshops, an academically rigorous but discussion-led programme taught by Winchester's own teachers, covering everything from science and philosophy to AI and ethics through modules on Scientific Inquiry, Economy, Ethics and Prosperity, and World Modelling. Alongside the workshops, students worked on a Capstone project, building up their creativity, problem-solving, and confidence in pitching ideas, and took part in sessions on the Ancient World and printmaking drawing on the Eccles Collection of rare artists' books. A tour of Winchester College itself gave students a close look at one of England's oldest schools, before a day trip to Oxford brought a private tour of New College with the college archivist and time in the Bodleian Library and Pitt Rivers Museum. The program wrapped up with a final Catalyst Workshop on World Modelling followed by a visit to Windsor Castle.
Connecting East to West
Across these three very different locations filled with a diverse range of activities, this summer's program gave our students a rare opportunity to move seamlessly between leadership development, cultural heritage and academic inquiry, all while building friendships through cross cultural exchange. From the classrooms of Shanghai to the palaces of Beijing and the quadrangles of Winchester, the journey reflected the diverse range of WLSA's network and its ability to connect students with leading high schools around the world.
