Mexico is a leading educational hub, providing students with tremendous opportunities to learn, grow, and build bright careers. It houses some of the most remarkable schools, which provide exceptional educational facilities with a blend of cutting-edge infrastructure. These noteworthy schools deliver their very best to transform students into leaders of tomorrow. They embrace innovation and excellence while delivering lasting educational experiences.
One such prominent school, which is acting as a beacon of light for Mexico’s education system, is none other than Winpenny School. It provides a loving, caring, nurturing, and harmonious environment, where students get to explore themselves and transform into professionals.
Winpenny first opened its doors in September 1992. Its original location was a four-bedroomed house in a beautiful, colonial neighbourhood in Mexico City. Miss Marian Winpenny and her eldest son, Melvyn T. Winpenny, founded the school with only five children. Due to Miss Marian’s reputation as an excellent English educator, the school quickly expanded. Today, Winpenny is one hundred times bigger. It is a kindergarten through grade 12 school with over 550 students in kindergarten, primary, and secondary sections. The school is housed in a modern, purpose-built school building between the burgeoning modern business and residential districts of Interlomas and Santa Fe. The founders, Mr Melvyn Winpenny and Miss Marian Winpenny, still govern the school. Winpenny School will soon be launching a second campus in Ciudad Mayakoba on the Caribbean coast of Mexico.
Unlocking the Creative Side
Winpenny provides an exciting, relevant inquiry-based international curriculum that encourages students to be curious about their world. Students at Winpenny develop strong foundations in all subject areas – linguistic, scientific, mathematical, and artistic. It prepares the students for confident, independent, and lifelong learning.
Winpenny helps the students to make informed choices and gives them opportunities to make a difference through service and action, to help their communities – class, school, city, country, and the wider world.
The school encourages its students to communicate their ideas creatively, make inspired choices, and solve problems. Winpenny students appreciate the value of making mistakes. The students work in English and Spanish, learning knowledge, practising skills, and making connections across the curriculum.
It develops international-mindedness and the values and personal skills represented by the IPC Personal Goals and IB Learner Profiles. The school inculcates in the children qualities such as being adaptable, a communicator, a collaborator, a thinker, ethical, respectful, resilient, and empathetic – skills for the 21st century and beyond.
Presenting the Dynamic Duo
The personalities responsible for taking Winpenny to tremendous heights are its Co-Founders, Miss Marian Winpenny and her son, Mr Melvyn Winpenny. They have sought to provide high-quality international education in the heart of Mexico City for the last 29 years. They believe that tradition and family values are as important as excellent international teachers, modern teaching methodologies, and innovative technology. In addition, they believe in creating an environment where children feel valued. “At Winpenny, the importance of social and emotional learning, positive relationships, empathy and kindness towards one another are emphasized and practised. With 29 years of experience in the educational field, Winpenny School’s reputation and success speak for themselves!” express Miss Marian and Mr Melvyn.
Going Beyond Textbooks
Winpenny not only focuses on providing exceptional academic facilities but also provides students to explore extracurricular activities. Accordingly, it offers a core of afternoon activities throughout the school year, including dance from Danza – Talento en Movimiento, football from the International Football Academy Mexico, and orchestra and choir from the Winpenny Music Academy. In addition, the school provides a variety of fun, academic, sporting, and artistic activities every term – art, drama, Model United Nations, Portuguese, Student Council, volleyball, and table tennis. It provides various offerings depending on the interests shown by the student body.
Children who need extra support to develop their English skills have expert tutoring after school. In the classroom, teachers use strategies for English as an Additional Language (EAL) learners in every lesson. The school trains all its teachers to teach EAL learners and encourages them to use cooperative learning strategies to develop talk in the classroom.
Making Students Future Ready
Winpenny inculcates 21st century skills among the students to ensure that they are prepared for college and can successfully participate in the world of tomorrow. Beyond technology and academics, these are the soft skills needed to participate in the global economy of the future. The students participate in the Student Council, Model United Nations, local community and worldwide initiatives related to their IEYC, IPC, IMYC and IB units of inquiry.
A Decorated School
Winpenny is approved by both Cambridge University and Fieldwork Education, which allows it to teach their programmes. In kinder, it teaches using the International Early Years Curriculum (IEYC). It uses the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) in Primary, and the International Middle Years Programme (IMYP) in Secondary standards. Winpenny is authorised to teach the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme to High School. It is incorporated into the Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP) and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).
On January 21st, 2019, Winpenny School and UNAM celebrated an agreement to strengthen bilateral bonds between the United Kingdom and Mexico. With this agreement, UNAM validated the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) courses for Winpenny students. The students can also participate in the UNAM’s cultural, academic, and sports activities and exchanges.
Taking on the Pandemic Efficiently
Keeping the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in perspective, in March 2020, the school successfully switched to online learning, which was challenging, interesting, fun, and engaging. Most of Winpenny’s teachers are Google Certified Educators, and it employs Google Classroom and Google Workspace for Education to capture and maintain the students’ interest in learning online.
In August 2021, team Winpenny planned and developed protocols for a safe return to school including, bubbles and building new classrooms to maintain a safe distance with small cohorts of children. “Should they wish to this year, parents may also opt to keep their child learning online,” expresses the management. Some teachers have dedicated themselves solely to online teaching, whilst others focus on teaching students face-to-face. In its return to school this year, Winpenny is strengthening its students’ socialemotional skills as well as focusing on gently bridging any academic gaps left by the pandemic.
Marching Ahead Confidently
Speaking about the future, Miss Marian and Mr. Melvyn state that they envision a very bright future with the opening of their second campus in Ciudad Mayakoba, Quintana Roo. This world-class, 47,000 square metre campus will include a K-12 school with residential and summer-school facilities. The aim is to replicate the Winpenny philosophy and educational model in this idyllic coastal location. “Our Cuajimalpa campus in Mexico City will continue to be our flagship school promoting international education, excellence in English and innovation in technology,” declares the management.
