Our Vision

Wellington College was established in 1853 as the nation’s memorial to the Duke of Wellington. The College builds on the honourable legacy of the ‘greatest Englishman that ever lived’ by combining the best traditions and values of the past with the energy and ambition of the present. With grounds and buildings of unsurpassed beauty and with access to truly outstanding facilities, all of us at Wellington feel a deep sense of privilege to live and work here.

Academic

We are completely committed to providing your children with an inspiring academic experience which is pupil-centred and stimulating. We have adopted a pioneering, global and independent approach to what we teach. All of our pupils have the choice of studying either GCSEs or the Middle Years Programme (part of the International Baccalaureate) and in the Sixth Form, the choice between A Levels or the IB Diploma.

The issue is not so much what is taught, but how it is taught and our excellent staff are recruited for their passion, their enthusiasm and their imagination in communicating with children to ensure that every single child in their classes is engaged, excited and challenged by the learning experience at all times. We know that learning is too important to be spoilt by mediocre delivery and our staff are restless in their focus on the needs of individuals. This has led to outstanding results for our pupils, which have propelled us to the top of the co-educational boarding schools in Britain.

Pastoral 

Simultaneously, we are deeply committed to opening the hearts and minds of our young people in every way. We believe that boarding teaches young people how to live independently and our warm, friendly and experienced boarding staff support and guide Wellingtonians on that journey. Our highly regarded well-being programme and our unique eight aptitudes approach to education ensures that we develop the whole person – we focus specifically on the individual needs, strengths and talents of each and every pupil and we ensure that our outstanding extra-curricular provision, including sports, arts, clubs and societies, CCF, leadership and challenge activities, all add up to an holistic education.

Service

Our outward-looking approach and our belief that we can and must change the world we live in is also reflected in our ambitious and extensive Service programme. It is there in our pioneering partnership with the Wellington Academy, our work with Wellington Tianjin and other international partners, in our CCF, in our education festivals and in our extensive conference and lecture programme.

We continue to reflect and develop all that we do, staying connected with an outside world which is changing faster than at any time in the past both nationally and internationally. We are immensely proud of our achievements and of the community we are building here and in our sister schools. We hope to have the opportunity to share that with you and your children.