General Events

The Master has written a letter to all parents to accompany the grades and  this should have arrived today if you live in this country. A copy is up on the intranet if you have not received it although you might need to log on with the generic password to read it. In it, he does raise issues about alcohol and dress as well as grades.

The weekend of 29th and 30th September is a weekend leave and parents are reminded that their son or daughter should be back at Wellington by 9:15p.m on Monday 1st October. If there are good reasons for your son or daughter returning earlier that 9:15 p.m. on that Monday, could you please inform HMs. It is worth mentioning that on this equivalent weekend last year, there was considerable loutish group misbehaviour  by a small minority of our older pupils in Reading and also on trains when returning to Crowthorne.

Following the success of last year , a second Inspired Art Exhibition, with the support of the National Autistic Society, will be held on the weekend of  29th and 30th September at Wellington College, Crowthorne. The exhibition opens from 10am - 5pm. On Sunday 30th at midday, talented local guitarist, Jim Kelleher, will be performing and the Mayor of  Bracknell Forest , Cllr Gill Birch, will be in attendance to lend her support to the artists and the National Autistic Society, the UK's leading charity for people with autism and their families.  Artists Fiona Channon and Alan Brain will have paintings worth £450 each up for raffle, and all proceeds will go to the N.A.S.   Admission to the exhibition is free and all works are for sale. To see samples of some of the paintings on display, go to www.inspiredart.info and www.alanbrain.com.

On Sunday 30th September the Master will be leading a London walk. It will start at Waterloo, use the Thames Path and end at Paddington. - a total distance of about twelve miles.The Master will be referring regularly to Peter Ackroyd's excellent new book 'Sacred River' and the historical associations of the places we visit. It provides a great opportunity to meet some other parents at the same time as seeing some little known corners of London. More details can be found here. If you are interested in coming along, please contact me -   Roger Auger, the Senior Master. Those parents who have already expressed interest should have received details already - if not please get back to me.

The Chapel Choir, with many new singers, will be singing Evensong at Portsmouth Cathedral on Wednesday 3rd October at 6:00 p.m.  Any parents who live close enough to attend would be most welcome - please bring your friends too to lend support.

Also on Wednesday 3rd October, there is the Round Square Committee meeting in the Driver Lecture Room at 7:45 p.m. Parents are welcome but are asked to contact Graham Nurser in advance.

Parents of Fifth Form pupils are warmly invited to an IB and A Level information evening on Friday 5th October at 7:00pm in the Theatre.  Following last year's introduction to the IB, this evening is designed to give Fifth Form families the essential information they need to begin the process of choosing between the two major pathways in the Senior School.  Presentations will focus on the nature of both courses, the options on offer within them, and the advantages of each for university entry.  Dr Geoff Parks (O.W.), Director of Admissions at Cambridge University will be present to speak about views of IB and A Levels from the university perspective.  There will also be opportunities for questions about both options.  Following the evening, we hope pupils and parents will take the opportunity over the term ahead to talk with teachers, tutors and HMs to ensure that they make the right decision in the Lent term.  There will be a similar evening for new entrants to the Lower Sixth Form coming from schools other than Wellington, on Friday 12th October. If you do have any queries regarding IB then please do email the Director of IB, Dr David James.

Over the weekend of 6th and 7th of October, the third form in the Anglesey, Beresford, Blucher, Benson, Orange, Hopetoun and Talbot go away together on an activities weekend. This provides a chance for pupils to work together at a series of fun tasks and challenges in the Hampshire countryside.  The pupils camp in house groups and are assessed on their team performance in each task.  There is a trophy awarded to the winning house.  The challenges vary but do include the risk of pupils getting wet so the kit list, already provided via HMs, includes a complete change of dry clothes. The pupils will leave after dinner on Saturday and return in time for dinner on Sunday.  Further details will be available via  HMs nearer the time. The weekend is organised by Mike Fielder.

On Sunday 7th October, there is a Full School Eucharist with the preacher being the Reverend Father Kit Dunkley, the Master of S.S.C. The Orange parents ware warmly invited and the collection is going to the Nabukenya Primary school in Mityana in Uganda.  Last year the House raised nearly £9,000 to  build a classroom block at the school. This year we would like to build accommodation for the teachers, who currently live is cramped and semi squalid shared rooms. There can be no education without committed and qualified teachers. The ones at the school are excellent and we want to encourage them stay at the school and really make it a success for the children. Providing them with an adequate place to live is a real priority for the school.

Sport

The rugby  block fixture on Saturday 29th September is against Sherborne, with an additional game against Reading Blue Coat whilst the girls U16 hockey teams play  Sevenoaks.

On Tuesday 2nd October, the rackets pairs  travel to Clifton, the girls' squash team take on Epsom, and the golf team are away at Bradfield.

Thursday October 4th sees our U14 hockey teams playing Sevenoaks, the squash teams competing at Winchester, the golf team taking  on Harrow and the fencing team taking to the piste at Marlborough.

The block fixtures on Saturday  6th October are against Lord Wandsworth for the hockey and Marlborough for the rugby - with additional rugby games against the Oratory and Reading Blue Coat. It is also the opportunity for the badminton team to take on Harrow.

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

Further Ahead

On Monday 8th October we are holding a Conference on "Multiple Intelligences: What is Education For?"  The keynote speaker is Howard Gardner from Harvard University.    A detailed programme is available on the website.   You may reserve a place by emailing Tarla Woolhouse . Parents are invited to attend for a discounted rate of £60.00.  Any parent interested in attending can either download an application form or apply online.   Do please inform your friends and colleagues about this conference.

Thursday 11th October is the Upper Sixth Form conference when all parents of pupils get a chance to talk to the teachers of their sons and daughters to assess progress to date. We hope to see many of you there.

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!

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.

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.

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. Full details can be found on the website.