Saturday 14th March until Friday 20th March
Another term draws to its conclusion. The clocks will go back and suddenly the world will become a better place in the evenings. I hope that you manage to have a good holiday with your son or daughter whether just for the Easter break itself or for longer. For many of the pupils it will also be a time for fine-tuning their academic work in preparation for the external exams of next term.
Comic Relief always creates a stir. Breakfast suddenly becomes a must-attend event so that you can see everyone else's costume. For more images of the day, click here.
On a different note but looking to the future, next term's calendar is now available and can be found here. You should be getting a paper copy with the end of term material.
The Master's Voice
Teenagers. Some see teenagers as older children, others as young adults, and still others as a kind of exotic breed, with the cunning of a fox, the hunger of a golden retriever and the tidiness of a bull in a china shop. You may well of come across the book written by David Bainbridge, who is the Clinical Veterinary Anatomist at Cambridge University. Presumably he is used to making cuts, but his book is in fact surprisingly constructive. I attach a summary of it here. We have been discussing it amongst housemasters and housemistresses in particular, e.g. should we begin the working day later, or would that mean they would simply go to bed later rather than sleeping more? Parents and schools are pretty involved with teenagers, and there is quite a lot to reflect upon in this article, and still more the book itself.
Michael Gove, Shadow Secretary of State for Education spoke at Wellington last Tuesday at a high profile conference on Academies. He said the Conservatives will liberate failing schools from 'monopoly control' by local authorities so that they can be turned into academies. He said that a future Conservative Government will sustain and accelerate the present academies programme.
He encouraged independent schools to join in support for academies saying "The independent sector has achieved much: but is it right that that achievement should just be for those able to pay the fees for such schools? We could change education in Britain if all independent schools became involved in academies." He then went on to praise Wellington for leading the way on this issue.
General Events
On Sunday 15th March at 7.30 p.m. in the Newsome Sports Hall there is a Choral and Concerto Concert conducted by Simon Williamson. Purcell's Ode to St Cecilia, Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb will be performed by Wellington Chorus and Crowthorne Choral Society. Also Steph Tress will be playing Elgar's Cello Concerto. Tickets are £10 (students £2) and are available from Reception or Music School.
The night of Saturday 14th March is closed for the 3rd, 4th and 5th Form as we have a variety of activities for them then. On Sunday 15th March there is a Mattins service for all those pupils, to which their parents are welcome. The preacher is Mr. Jonathan Paul, the Jewish Tutor at Eton College. Pupils are able to go home after that service.
The annual Picton House Play - this year "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" - will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Theatre on Wednesday 18th and Thursday 19th March (not 12th/13th as calendared). The story is a powerful one ... Chief Bromden, half American-Indian, whom the authorities believe is deaf and dumb, tells the story of a mental institution ruled by Big Nurse on behalf of the all-powerful Combine. Into this terrifying grey world comes McMurphy, a brawling gambling man, who wages total war on behalf of his cowed fellow-inmates. What follows is at once hilarious and heroic, tragic and ultimately liberating. Directed by Freddie Fielding: Trent Earwaker and Ellie Stitcher star. Tickets can be bought (for £1 to cover costs and raise money for the Picton House charity) from the Dining Hall and the V&A from Wednesday 11th. Parents, please e-mail Nick Gallop
As part of The College's 150th celebrations we are trying to raise £150,000 for Hope and Homes - a charity that helps children whose lives have been ruined by war. We hope that one component of this will be an Auction of Promises. This summer, inspired by an idea from the pupils, a group of pupils and staff are swimming the Channel in aid of Hope and Homes for Children. To help raise money for such a worthy charity, Eunice Gillan and Kitty Jack are organising the Wellington College 150th Anniversary Auction of Promises on Thursday 19th March at 7:30 p.m. in the Old Hall. Your help would be greatly appreciated by all! If you have a promise or an item that could be auctioned that evening please contact Eunice Gillan or Kitty Jack.
Many thanks for your help in advance! Tickets are now available for this event and can be purchased at a cost of £20. This includes a buffet meal and wine before the Auction commences. Places are limited so please hurry! Please download the reply slip from here and return it to Eunice Gillan together with cash or cheque payment.
The list of promises for auction is really impressive - personal favourites of mine include: a day's fly fishing with 4 rods, transport to and from College, champagne breakfast, BBQ lunch and instruction/coaching; four tickets for an Arsenal game; four nights accommodation for up to 7 people in a Normandy gite; four nights' food & accommodation as private guests of the Governor of the Cayman Islands, British West Indies. (flights not included); a tour for six people of the Queen's Gallery in the company of the Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures; a private tour of Nick Mason's (Pink Floyd drummer) sport's car collection followed by pub lunch. To get more information and to place bids in advance of the event please click here.
It is National Science and Engineering week. The 3rd form are taking part in a Science essay writing competition about who they consider to be the greatest ever Scientist. More details are on the Intranet
Whilst on the science theme, it is the International Year of Astronomy which has been launched under the theme of "The Universe, Yours to Discover". This year, 2009, marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo's use of the telescope to make astronomical observations. The IYA will include a dedicated Saturn week (30 March - 5 April), Moon week (20 - 26 July) and Jupiter week (26 October - 1 November). More details of the year can be found here. If any parent or student would like to visit the observatory or use it for making observations they are very welcome indeed to do so. If you are interested in having a look at the Observatory then please contact John Marjot. If parents have any observing equipment surplus to requirements I am sure the College would be grateful to receive such equipment as a donation!
Term ends on Friday 20th March and the pupils should be free to go home from 3:00 p.m. We look forward to welcoming the boarders back by 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday 15th April. There is a message to parents who use Prestige cars - a local taxi firm. They do say that with so many last-minute requests, it is difficult to meet them all. They would ask parents to pre-book taxis for the last day of term.
You will receive a letter from the Head of 5th Form about revision for GCSEs with special focus on the Easter holidays. 40-60 hours revision is what we say our pupils should do. A letter about this is included in the End-of-Term booklet with a copy here and here is a link to the revision planners and advice for pupils on the Tutorial page of our Intranet. Thank you for your support with this vital segment of exam preparation.
Parents are most welcome to have a school lunch in the Main College Dining Room on Saturdays. Lunches will be available to parents between 12: 30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. and the cost is £2.50 per head (cash please) for a two-course lunch. Even if you will not be staying for a match do come along, make yourself known to the Duty Catering Manager who will guide you through the system. It is not the formal occasion that it used to be!
The Bursar reminds parents that the College requires one term's notice of a pupil leaving other than at the end of their Upper Sixth Year. Notice for any pupil leaving at the end of the Summer Term 2009 should be sent in writing to the Bursar on or by the first day of the Summer Term, Wednesday 15th April 2009. This is to ensure that you do not become liable for paying the following term's fees in lieu of notice. If you are unsure whether or not your daughter or son may be leaving, you may consider forwarding provisional notice that he/she may be leaving and will confirm the position later in the term. Obviously, it will help us to have such decisions as early as possible so that we can ensure that places are filled.
The stated method for paying the termly school fee is by one instalment on or by the first day of each term. Mindful of the difficulty that this may present I should remind of the following points. If you do anticipate any difficulties with cash flow for paying the school fees, please to be sure to contact me as early in the term as possible; payment by monthly instalments may well be the straightforward solution. We are looking to introduce the facility to pay fees by Direct Debit for the next academic year, either termly or spreading the year's fees by monthly instalments. Further details of this will be distributed early next term. The scheme whereby childcare vouchers can be set against the cost of boarding fees is now operating ( and my apology for the false start). For further information, please contact our Fees Supervisor, Mrs Sally Clark. Please note that this is applicable only to pupils up to and including the summer term in which they celebrate his or her 15th birthday. The College does offer a Fees in Advance Scheme whereby the forward payment of a lump sum towards school fees can attract a discount. Further details are available from Steve Headdey, College Accountant.
On Saturday 28th March the management of the Wellington College Shop will revert back from Sodexo to Wellington College. This does account for the reductions in stock over the past couple of weeks and that the Shop will be closed for some re-organisation during the first two weeks of the School holidays. The Shop will be open again on Monday 6th April. On the day pupils are due back for the Summer Term, Wednesday 15th April, the College Shop will be open until 7:00 p.m. Details of revised opening hours and the range of goods offered will be included in the first edition of next term's Week Ahead
On Saturdays in the V & A the counter is open for coffee, tea, milkshakes and goodies between 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon. Between 12:00 and 10:00 p.m. the catering department will provide flasks of coffee and tea in the V & A for people to assist themselves. If you have any queries concerning these arrangements do either e-mail the Bursar ( 01344 444020) or the Catering Manager, Phillip Stockwell.
On Saturdays from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. by appointment there is the opportunity for consultations with the Educational Support Department regarding your child's specific educational needs. Please email Carole Blunden-Lee to make an appointment .
The Wellingtonian is pleased to be able to offer advertising space in the forthcoming edition. As the College's news magazine, the Wellingtonian is written by pupils and is available in printed form twice a year. Having recently celebrated its 400th edition, the magazine is distributed to parents, prep schools, teachers and governors. For further details and prices, please contact Naomi Pendle.
Letters Home
To try and cut down on the amount of paper we send out and to try and not bombard parents with large numbers of posting, e-mails and information generally, we plan to use this section of the Week Ahead to include letters we would normally send out - either electronically or by post. If there are parents who would still rather receive everything on paper, please e-mail the College Secretary. We still anticipate sending out paper copies of reports, bills and the Master's letters. To open some of these letters you will need to log on to the intranet as the page they are saved on is only viewable to those in the Wellington community. Do contact me if you need the password - details are further up in this Week Ahead. All letters home of this sort are stored here . If for any reason you want to see a back copy of the Week Ahead they are all available on the internet.
A letter has gone home to all parents of Fifth Form pupils with details about Work Experience. A copy can be found here.
On Saturday 14th March, the big fixtures are hockey with Cheltenham College, netball with Bradfield and football with both Epsom and St. Paul's. Also on this day the cross country team take part in the Pat Bagnall Trophy and the sailing team make a potentially chilly start to their season competing with Eton and Magdalen College School.
Sunday 15th March is another busy sporting day with the National Schools' Polo Tournament at the Longdole Polo Club, a sevens tournament at London Irish for the U16 team, the netball teams playing Latymer School and WCAFC playing the Corinthian Casuals.
On Wednesday 18th March, the 1st VII at taking part in the Surrey 7s at the Richmond Athletic Ground.
The last week is dominated by house events, one of the highlights of which is the Kingsley cross-country race on Thursday 19th March. Parents are welcome to come and watch this race. There is a little about the history of the race below.
Further Ahead
The Kid's Cookery School was a great success this term and we will be running another programme in the summer. It lasts for five weeks and students get to learn to bake bread, make their own pies and other dishes as well as the many lessons surrounding diet, health and knife safety. The cost of each lesson is £20 and will be charged to the sundries account. Lessons take place on a Wednesday afternoon at either 2:30pm or 4pm depending on the student's other commitments. If you are keen for your daughter or son to partake in this fantastic opportunity please contact Brynn Bayman a line and book their place.
As another part of our 150th raising £150,000 for the charity Hope and Homes and indeed its centrepiece fund-raising event, we are asking ALL pupils to take part in a sponsored 12 mile (20km) walk, to take place on Sunday 19th April, the first weekend of the Summer Term. This will follow a circular route, departing from and returning to Wellington, passing through the many acres of forest and heathland to the east of us. Remarkably, only one road needs to be crossed in the entire route! Sponsorship will be organised largely via the JustGiving website, with appropriate pages being designed between now and the end of term; some paper forms will be available as a fall back, but it is intended that the majority will be web-based. Further details will follow in the End of Term mailing, but parents are heartily encouraged to join the pupils, Common Room and Support Staff in this community event. When the walkers have returned to College, there will by plenty of entertainment to follow.
Incidentally, for the Lower Sixth pupils this will be very good preparation for the rather longer Ridgeway Overnight Challenge that they will all be doing in the second half of the Summer Term. Last year's inaugural event went very well, but one of the consistent bits of feedback was that there had been little chance to do any kind of training. Here's the chance! Many also felt we had missed a trick in not using it to raise some money for charity, and we have a natural focus for that this year in Hope and Homes. More details of the Ridgeway Overnight Challenge will come from the Head of L6th, Murray Fowler, in due course.
There are still a limited number of places available on the Paris/Giverny trip over the weekend 24th - 26th April, please contact Denise Cook for details.
The Wellington College Orchestra, Chapel Choir, Camerata and Jazz band will be performing at St John's Smith Square, London on Friday 1st May at 7:30 p.m.. The programme will include the Haydn 'cello concerto in C Major performed by Anton Crayton (Wn). Please put this in your diaries now! Tickets can only be obtained from the box office on 020 7222 1061 or www.sjss.org.uk. In preparation for this 1st May concert, all College Orchestra members will need to back in College for 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday 15th April for a rehearsal at 6:00 p.m. in the Old Gym.
Thank you to all those who have returned deposits for the WCA Trenches, Waterloo and Paris trips. The Trenches trip is full and we have opened a waiting list. The Waterloo trip has very few places left and there are only two places left on the Paris trip. If you have not yet returned your deposit, please be aware that while we will hold your places until the end of this term, they will become firmly booked only once your deposits are received.
"With its romantic gardens, follies and lakes, the small Elizabethan manor house at Garsington is the most idyllic setting for opera you will ever experience" Wall Street Journal. WCA are pleased to offer Wellington parents a rare opportunity to secure tickets to Garsington Opera's 20th anniversary festival in June and July before they go on sale to the public. The programme features Martinů's Mirandolina, a delightful comic opera based on the eighteenth-century farce by Goldoni, La locandiera (The innkeeper). Tickets are on sale on a 'first come first served' basis from 14th April. To book your tickets or find out more information e mail tickets09@garsingtonopera.org or telephone 01865 361636 (from 14th April), mentioning WCA. www.garsingtonopera.org/mirandolina
Another part of our fund raising for Hope and Homes is a Charity Cycle Ride from Calais to Cannes via Waterloo and following the Napoleon route.This is scheduled for the first fortnight of the summer holidays. Effectively the route skirts the eastern edge of France via Lille and then Dijon before cutting to Grenoble and finally Cannes. If anyone has accommodation - whether a field to camp in or a house to stay in - on this route and would be prepared for the cycle team to stay there for one night, please contact David Walker.
From the Archives
In the week of the Kingsley races, it seemed appropriate to include some images of the race. Named after Charles Kingsley, the race (then called a steeplechase) originally weaved to and fro across the River Blackwater. The image to the left was taken in 1932 and shows boys crossing the Blackwater.
In the 70s for "health" reasons the race was moved to within the school grounds and finishes with a crossing of Swan Lake, as can be seen in the image ot the right. Whether the waters of Swan Lake are healthier than the waters of the Blackwater is a moot point. Legends abound about the pike that lives in the lake that is prepared to take off the leg of any unwary runner straying too close.
The first Kingsley race was run in 1860 and so this year's race will be the 150th!
In the earlier days of Wellington's history, cross country running as is now was called either a paper-chase or a steeple-chase. The image below is a paper-chase that has just started at the Great Gate in late Victorian or early Edwardian times
These races did on occasion lead to conflict with the local community. In 1870 on Yately Common "both hare and hounds were received by some children, loaded with contumely and not unaccompanied by stones". a great phrasing! Perhaps one of those children harboured a grudge as in 1884 the Times reported an incident from a paper chase at Wellington: "The miller at Yateley Mill was charged with shooting a number of students at Wellington College. He was annoyed by the boys and, lying in ambush, fired amongst them with powder and shot no.7". There were no severe injuries among the seven who were shot.
The Year Book form 1899 has a fascinating commentary of the race of that year. Two highlights were "The leading man increased his distance and plunged into the Slough of Despond [presumably the River Blackwater] about thirty yards ahead of any one else. Here he was unfortunate in his selection of a spot and got badly stuck, an opportunity not missed by Cliff who passed him." and "The last ditch was so wide, deep and full of ice at the usual point that the come-in was shifted some twenty yards to the left. The stewards had expected that most of the competitors would clear it at that point but Furlong was the only one who did so. Some few insisted on a good wallow."
To finish perhaps, an extract form the paper-chase report of 1901- perhaps a clarion call to potential paper-chasers of the day "Despite the laws of sanitation and despite the fact that even Bagshot Heath, that happy hunting ground of highwaymen some centuries ago, is becoming covered with habitations, mostly of an unpleasing kind, we still paper-chase."
Long may they do so!
With thanks to Chris Potter and Patrick Mileham for much of this material.