General Events

On Sunday 14th October, there is a Full School Service of the Word with the preacher being the Reverend Martin Caeser, Baptist Minister of Crowthorne. The Picton parents are warmly invited.

On Tuesday 16th October, we have pleasure in welcoming Felix Francis to Great School at 8:00 p.m. He will be talking about his father Dick Francis and their latest book, Dead Heat,  which was released in September and  will be delighted to sign his latest book which will be available for purchase on the night (hardbacks £15 cash sales only) - excellent Christmas presents although only thirty copies are available!  You may reserve a copy by emailing Tarla Woolhouse.  A flyer and further details can be found on the website.

The Fourth Form have been working hard on their Master's Project and this is coming to a conclusion with the deadline for submission being Monday 15th October. On Wednesday 17th October and Thursday 18th October there will be an Exhibition of all the projects ranging from go-karts to boats and book reviews to theatre productions. All are welcome to view on those evenings from  6:00 p.m. onwards in the Driver Rooms.

On Thursday 18th October Wellington is hosting the 'Angels Choir' a children's choir from West Africa to perform in the Old Gym alongside pupils from the three Wellington choirs.  This will be the highlight of their tour and money has been raised in order to bring them here by parents of children at Wellington.  Please do join us for our Gala Evening which will be a fabulous event with a two course dinner, wonderful music and a unique moment in Wellington's history.  All monies raised go towards the children's school and community in West Africa.  Ticket price is £25 per head and anyone interested should contact Clare Walters on 07831 093 499 or Sara Blosse on 07778 399 929.  Of course donations are also readily and gratefully received! The Angels have now started their tour and are really rather special - if you would like tickets we have to know by this Sunday 14th October.  If there are any Wellington children or siblings of Wellington children who would like to come along then you are very welcome to watch from the gallery in the Old Gym.  The concert will start at 8:00 p.m.

On Thursday 18th October, Remus Azoitei (Violin professor at the Royal Academy of Music) will be visiting Wellington College to give five of our pupils a violin lesson / masterclass. The pupils participating are Claire Sledd (Ap), Sabina Virtuso (W), Katie Jillings (O), Possum Eckhardt  and Leesu Kim (Bl). The lessons will take place in the Lewis Room (1st floor of the Music School) from 10:15 a.m.  until 3:15 p.m.

The first conference this year for Third Form parents will take place on Friday 19th October.  At this Wellbeing and Tutors Conference, Mr Ian Morris, the Head of the Philosophy and Ethics Department will present a seminar on Wellbeing at Wellington in the Theatre from 4:15 p.m. until  5:00 p.m. You will then have an opportunity to discuss any issues relating to your son or daughter with their Tutor in their respective Houses from 5:10 p.m. until  6:00 p.m.  After this time, your son or daughter will be on Exeat. It would help us considerably to know if you intend to come to the conference.  Could I ask therefore, that you either phone (+44 (0) 1344 444018) or  e-mail  Ms E Browne, College Secretary, by Tuesday 16th October?

After lessons on Friday, the Exeat starts. we look forward to welcoming back your sons and daughters by 9:15 p.m. on Sunday 4th November if they are boarders or on Monday if they are day pupils.

It has been highlighted ( and verified by CCTV! ) that some parents are "tail gating" other users when using the Mordaunt Gate. We would be grateful if this practice stops immediately as there have been a number of near misses and this action has caused the gate sensors to fail and require an engineer to be called out. We therefore ask that if you intend using the Mordaunt Gate, please factor in the extra time and do not tail gate or alternatively use the West Gate entrance only. Thank you for your cooperation.

Sport

The block fixtures on Saturday 13th October are against Eton for rugby (with an additional game against Lord Wandsworth) and against Dauntsey's for hockey.

On Tuesday 16th October the senior  hockey teams play St. Mary's Ascot whilst the U14 team travel to Leighton Park  . The rackets team play Cheltenham, the squash teams take on Woodcote House and the golfers play Cranleigh.

Thursday 18th October sees the golf team in the I.G.S.A. and the fencing team travel to R.G.S. Guildford.  Also on this day, the U15 Daily Mail rugby competition enters Round 3 with our team playing The Downs School on Derby 5 at 3:00  p.m. There are also new rugby fixtures on that day with a Colts 1/2, a Junior Colts 2/3 and a Yearlings 1/2 playing Kennet School.

On Saturday 20th October, our U15 rugby team starts a tour of Ireland, including games against St. Michael's College, Dublin, on Monday 21st October, Blackrock College on Wednesday 22nd October and The King's Hospital School, Dublin, on Thursday 23rd October.

All of our Rugby and Girls' hockey results will be on the schools' sport website again this year.

Further Ahead

The College has a Parents' Forum which meets with the College Senior Management Team once a term. This term they will be meeting on Thursday 8th November and if you have any questions you would like discussed at the forum please email your year representative by Friday 2nd November at the latest.   The representatives are as follows: OW & 4th Form  Justin Atkinson;  5th Form Tony Butcher, Debra Ziff; Lower Sixth Sue Shipway, Sue O'Donnell; Lisa Welton; Upper Sixth and 4th Form Julia Gateley; Upper Sixth and 5th Form Ed Pickard. With no current 3rd Form representative, can I suggest that parents of 3rd Form pupils contact one of the other Lower School representatives? The college representatives are the Master, Robin Dyer, Elizabeth Worthington and Susan Meikle.

On Friday 9th November  there is a chance to see one of the UK's leading session drummers in action. Ralph Salmins is professor of Drum Kit at the Royal College of Music and won the Best Drummer category of the British Jazz Awards in 2006.  His versatility has established him as the drummer of choice for producers and composers worldwide.  After working with percussion pupils at Wellington during the day, he will be performing at 8 p.m. in the Old Gym - tickets are £5 each and can be obtained from Ros Dunmore in the Music School or Reception.

The Fireworks Spectacular will be held on Saturday 10th November  with all parents and pupils welcome to attend. Proceeds from the event will go to 3 schools in South Africa, Kenya and Nepal. Tickets will go on sale from the College Reception office from Thursday 18th October.

Looking further ahead from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th November, Ian Botes, a Wellington parent and member of the W.C.A. committee, is leading, with the Master, a pre-Christmas trip to Vienna for 30-40 parents, staff and friends of Wellington College. If you are interested please contact  Tarla Woolhouse (+44 (0)1344 444085)  or Ian Botes for further details.  The cost for the inclusive break is £475 per person with a single supplement of £65.  The programme is outlined on the college website. To book contact Kevin Collins or Suzanne Wade at  Weekend a la Carte (01722 744695)  The deadline is the 30th September.

Towards the end of term we have two closed weekends for a  year group when we are running two trips aimed at our boarders to the West End to see a "big" show. The dates are Saturday 1st December for the Fifth Form and Saturday 8th December for the Third Form. 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 in the region of £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.

Saturday 9th February sees the W.C.A. Hollywood Ball - tables and tickets are selling fast. An application form can be found here and full details can be found on the website.

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 .