The Week Ahead
Saturday 1st December until Sunday 9th December
General Events
Parents of pupils in the Fifth Form are reminded that it is a closed Saturday on Saturday 1st December for that year as they are going up to the West End.
Also on Saturday 1st December at 7:30 p.m. in the Chapel Simon Williamson will conduct the Crowthorne Choral Society in a programme featuring Durufle's Requiem, Handel's Coronation Anthems and Lauridsen's O Magnum Mysterium. Tickets are £9 and are available on the door.
On Sunday 2nd December, we are having our Advent Procession with Carols in the Chapel at 8:00 p.m. The Lower and Middle School attend this service and this means that there is space for parents for what is always a moving service.
School exams start early in this week and that is very much the focus of the week for the pupils in the Lower and Middle School.
The Informal concert on Monday 3rd December includes items from Hattie Jones (voice), Simon Erridge (flute) ), William Welton (Double bass), Joanna Dempster (voice) and Trishan Vaikunthanathan (clarinet). All welcome at 6:15 p.m. in the Concert Room.
Later on Monday 3rd December we have Andrew Roberts the renowned historian and close friend of Margaret Thatcher and David Cameron, giving a presentation at the College on the "Battle of Waterloo". Andrew has written widely on 19th and 20th century history and is an exceptional speaker. The lecture will take place in Great School from 8:00 p.m.. A cash bar will be available prior to the talk. Please let Tarla Woolhouse know if you wish to attend as we expect this talk to be well attended. Andrew will be bringing copies of his books and will sign them at the end of the talk. (£13 hardback, £8 paperback - cash sales only!) If you wish to reserve a copy, please email Tarla Woolhouse Further details of Andrew Roberts talk are available on the website.
Our annual Wellington Pantomime is on Thursday 6th December and Friday 7th December at 7:30 p.m. in the Theatre. Tickets are almost sold out for Friday, but there are still a few left for Thursday evening. This is a fantastic family event and will be an amazing show. Tickets are free of charge and seating is reserved. Contact James Baker for tickets.
Parents of pupils in the Third Form are reminded that it is a closed Saturday on Saturday 8th December for that year as they are going up to the West End.
For several years we have been sending out a College Booklist at Christmas. This year, partly to save paper (since it is the Green Czar who compiles the list!), and partly to make it easier to update the booklist in the course of the year, we are publishing an online version. It is available here. We hope there's something there that will take your fancy, and please let eithe Ant Peter or Nic Amy know your views about the new arrangement.
For those parents who like to plan ahead, the school calendar is now available on the intranet. It should be printed for the end of term and go out with the end of term material.
Sport
Saturday 1st December sees both our rugby sides and our hockey sides playing Cranleigh (with one rugby game against Lord Wandsworth College)
On Tuesday 4th December, our rackets team takes on Winchester whilst Wednesday 5th December sees our Prep Schools Rugby tournament sponsored by SchoolsTrader. We look forward to this big event with over seventy prep schools attending. For more information contact Greg Woodrow.
On Thursday 6th December, four of our rugby team are playing Sedburgh whilst some of our squash teams take on Marlborough.
From Saturday 8th December, our rackets playing are competing in the Public Schools' singles Championships at Queen's Club, London.
Saturday 8th December sees our last block fixture of the year with the hockey teams taking on Epsom and the rugby teams playing Tonbridge. The badminton team also play the Wellington Sport's Club home team.
All of our Rugby and Girls' hockey results will be on the schools' sport website again this year.
Further Ahead
The Christmas Jazz Concert will take place on Tuesday 11th December at 6:15 p.m. in Old Hall. Come and enjoy music by Wellington College Big Band, www.blues band and soloists performing Christmas favourites arranged by Michael Roberts, Head of Jazz.
On Wednesday 12th December, Dr. Seldon, under some pressure, will be giving a talk on his latest book "Blair Unbound". All are welcome as spaces are going quickly. Friends and family are of course welcome. Copies of the book will be available for signing for Christmas presents at the greatly reduced price of £15.00. Profits from this book, as from all Dr Seldon's writing go to charity. There will be a reception in Great School from 7:15 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. where you can collect your reserved signed copies and enjoy a drink and mince pie to put us in the Christmas spirit ! We will also have Christmas Carols. The Master will speak from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the Theatre and if you wish to have your book personalised, you may do so after the talk. Advance orders would be appreciated as we are expecting this to be a well attended evening. Please let Tarla Woolhouse know if you wish to attend and how many copies of the book you might wish to purchase on the evening. P.S. Quite a number of you have already ordered copies - you do not need to reapply.
As a result of the growth in pupil numbers we have split the normal single Carol Service for pupils into two separate services, one for the Lower and Middle School (3rd, 4th and 5th Forms) at 3:00 p.m. and one for the Senior School (Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth) at 6:00 p.m. , both on Thursday 13th December. This allows us to invite parents for the first time to this important occasion at the end of the term so that they can share with their sons and daughters what is traditionally a rousing send off to the term. Having gauged interest in these services, Housemasters and Housemistresses have fed back prospective numbers and we are pleasantly surprised by the huge number of parents that have expressed the desire to attend. Unfortunately, the Chapel is not big enough to accommodate all of these parents and we are thus forced to limit numbers. This will be done by ticket application through Reception and be done on a strict quota by house in proportion to the number of pupils of the relevant year groups in house. The tickets will be provided on a first come, first served basis by emailing info@wellingtoncollege.org.uk. and will be limited to 2 tickets per pupil. Tickets will be delivered to houses on the Wednesday 12th December for collection by pupils. If you have any other questions, please contact Paul Hucklesby, the Chapel Warden. We are sorry that many parents that have expressed their keenness to attend will not be able to do so but there is a finite limit to the capacity of the Chapel and we do hope that you understand this.
On Saturday 19th January, we have a closed weekend for the Fourth Form boarders when we are running a trip to the West End to see a "big" show. The pupils have certainly enjoyed these trips in the past and are being asked now if they wish to go as we need to book tickets as soon as possible. The cost will be between £40 and £50 per head. If for any reason you do not wish your son or daughter to go on one of these trips, please e-mail John Arton-Powell as soon as possible because tickets need to be booked in the next two weeks.
The Hollywood Ball on Saturday 9th February is " a must not miss event" or you will be very sorry! Letters have gone out to all the parents and the tickets are selling fast. However a few are still available so act NOW and send in your completed form with your full payment. Although it seems a long way ahead, we need to get on with finalising details. If you have lost the letter, an application form can be found here and full details can be found on the website. Alternatively contact Reena Price (marked Hollywood Ball), Ludford House, Canon Hill Drive, Bray, Berks SL6 2EU. Tel: 01628 622355 Fax: 01628 632948. Mobile: 07778 205 112 Email: reena_price@hotmail.com
Nick Diver would like to remind parents that places for the Third Form trip to the First World War Battlefields from 20th to 22nd March 2008 are going very quickly and are nearly over-subscribed. Anybody who would like their son or daughter to go on the trip, or who would simply like more information, should email him as soon as possible.
There will be a Roman Catholic Confirmation in Crowthorne on Friday 6th June 2008 and classes will start in March. If you wish your child to be confirmed please e mail Dr Boscher .