The Week Ahead

Saturday 7th November until Sunday 15th November

Remembrance is an important time at Wellington. The History Department have put together a powerpoint presentation about Wellington's fallen of the Great War and I thought you might like to see it. It can be found here. It comes iwth a slight health warning - you will need powerpoint on your machine to view it and as it is a large file it might take a bit of time to load. Do turn on your speakers - there is sound attached.

One of my jobs over the Exeat was restructuring our intranet. I suspect some of you will have observed this. I have tried to make it more logical where things are - apologies if you can't find something. The search facility should work. Do please remember that to see many of the pages linked to the Week Ahead you will need to log on to the intranet - username college\victoria  etc etc. I am probably the one to blame or ask if there are problems.

Below are some images from some of  the twelve school trips over the Exeat. More images can be found here. The trips were to Nepal, Japan, China, India, Russia, Switzerland, Uganda, South Africa, Spain, Ireland, Switzerland and Northen Ireland. A few more images of some of the trips can be found here.

The Master's Voice.

General Events

Saturday 7th November sees the annual Fireworks Spectacular in aid of a variety of charities. Further details can be found here.  North Front & surrounding rounds will be closed from 6;00 pm on Saturday eve due to the Fireworks. Access to east / west of the campus is possible via the South Front which will be open.

As Sunday 8th November is Remembrance Sunday, Saturday 7th November is closed for the whole school. I am sorry that there is no space in Chapel on Remembrance Sunday for parents but you are welcome to attend the moving ceremony in Front quad at 10:45 am on the Sunday. In the lead in to Remembrance, each year group attends a moving Remembrance Readings and Music event in Great School. there are a very limited number of spaces for parents - the dates for the year groups are as in the calendar. If you would like to attend your son's or daughter's event please e-mail Julian Jeffrey.

The Online Auction in aid of Hope & Homes for Children goes live this Sunday, 8th November.   Thank you to everyone for the fantastic selection of donations - now the real fun begins: just click on the link to register, browse and bid - every bid makes a real difference!  www.wellington150auction.org.uk  We can still add more lots, so if you would like to donate, please contact Denise Cook.

On Monday 9th November there will be an Informal Concert in the Concert Room (6:15 pm to 7:00 pm) - everyone is most welcome to attend.

Baroness Cox of Queensbury will present 'The Story of South Sudan' at a lecture to parents on Monday 9th November at 7:30 pm in Great School.  She is also hoping to thank and inspire Wellington further in its support for building a school in South Sudan.  To reserve a seat or for further information please e-mail Naomi Pendle.

On Wednesday 11th November, we have Jonty and Ann Driver coming to dinner at the Lodge, with the former heads of several of our prep schools, including Ludgrove, Dragon, Woodcote, Aldro, Summer Fields, Lambrook, Sunningdale, etc.  Drinks will be from 7:30 pm to 8:00 pm, and if you would like to see Jonty (the 11th Master), and Ann, or any of the prep heads, you would be very welcome indeed to come in for drinks.  He is giving the Edmonds Poetry Reading, organised by Ant Peter, at 6:30 pm.

The Art Scholars exhibition at the V&A calendared for Thursday 12th November has been postponed until the Lent term.

Following Mrs Henderson's start of term letter, would like to invite you once again to the Fifth Form Parents Academic Information evening on Friday, 13th November.  The event will provide insight into academic life in the Sixth Form, focusing especially on the choice between the International Baccalaureate and the new A Levels.  Unfortunately, space restrictions in the Theatre mean that pupils will not be able to attend with parents, but we will present similar information to them in the following week so that families can discuss the issues ahead of the key decisions to be made next term.  The presentation will commence in the Theatre at 7.00pm and will be followed by refreshments in the V &A.  For catering purposes, please advise Mrs Sally Yarnton of your attendance by Monday 9th November.

The Wellington Foreign Language Verse Reading Competition will also be held on Friday 13th November. Students will be reciting poems in Latin, Greek, French, Spanish, German, Russian and Mandarin in front of external adjudicators. The competition will be in Great School at 5:00 pm; parents are very welcome to come and support their sons and daughters or just to enjoy a diverse selection of poetry from several rich literary cultures. Any questions to Simon Allcock. 

Also on Friday 13th November there will be 'A Celebration of British Music' concert in Old Gym (7:30 pm to 9:00 pm).

On Saturday14th November, at 7:00 pm there is a  'Sing & Swing' gospel concert in the Chapel - tickets are available  through Reception.

The Master's London Walk is taking place next Sunday, 15th November.  Join Dr Seldon and the WCA for a guided literary tour of London and lunch at the River Lounge restaurant, St Katherine's Dock.  For details or to book places, please contact Denise Cook by Tuesday 9th November.

Sunday 15th November sees a Full School Service of the Word in the Chapel at 8:00 pm to which the parents of the Hill are cordially invited. The preacher is Mrs Ruth Bealing form Operation Child Rescue, Goa.

There is a meeting of the Parents' Forum on Thursday 19th November. Information on the forum can be found here. If you have questions you would like raised please contact one of the relevant year group reps by Friday 13th November at the very latest.

Mitchell Bursaries are Sixth Form Bursaries offered by the Mitchell City of London Charity and Educational Foundation. Every applicant must have a definite connection with the City of London, that is the applicant, or one of his or her parents, must have lived in the City of London for at least 5 years, or one of his or her parents must have worked in the City for at least 5 years. The London Postal Districts EC3 and EC4 lie almost entirely within the City. The southern portion of the EC2 district, the south-eastern corner of EC1 district, a very small part of the E1 district and a small part of Chancery Lane and Bell Yard WC2 are also in the City. All other postal districts are entirely outside the City. A Mitchell Bursary is for two years of Sixth Form study at any fee paying secondary school. Applicants must be recommended as suitable for a bursary and be expected by the school to do well in their GCSE examinations; parents of applicants are asked by the Clerk to the Foundation for particulars of their financial circumstances. All applications for a bursary require recommendation by the applicant's Headteacher.  Trustees have fixed the maximum value of the bursary for 2010/11 at £1,620 pa and will take into account any assistance received towards tuition fees. The bursary does not increase for the second year of the 6th Form. Application forms are available from the Bursar ( sm@wellingtoncollege.org.uk /  Tel:  01344 444020) and will need to be completed and returned to the school by Friday 11th December.

During the summer the Old Wellingtonian Cricket Club commissioned the internationally renowned cricketing artist Jocelyn Galsworthy to paint the scene of the 2009 Speech Day on Turf in order to commemorate the 150th anniversary of College. Indeed those of you who strolled around Turf on Speech Day may well have seen her at work. Her outstanding work is now complete and the original painting is now hanging in the Monro Sports Pavilion. n electronic copy can be seen to the right of this paragraph. The OWCC has commissioned a limited edition of 250 prints of the painting, each of which has been signed by the artist. These signed prints are on sale for £100. All profits from the sale of these prints will go towards the funding of cricket equipment at the new Wellington Academy. Jocelyn's presence on Speech Day resulted in a substantial amount of interest and the majority of the prints were sold before the painting was finished. However there are signed prints still available - if you would like to order one please e-mail Mark Milliken-Smith, Chairman of OWCC, as soon as possible at milli@haslemere.com.

Duncan Christie-Miller, the Director of Christie-Miller Management Consultancy has offered to deliver a series of six workshops based on his company's very successful "Fifth Dynamic" Programme to enhance our 5th and 6th form pupils' leadership skills and employability. They will take place from 4.30 until 6.00 pm every Friday from Friday 22nd January until Friday 5th March. This course is free of charge, but future courses will cost £150. Pupils have been asked to apply for places. If you'd like more information on Christie-Miller, please visit the website.

A whole school photograph and the house photographs that were taken at the start of term are now available to view and order on line  To  view and order your own copy of these  pictures, go to the web address www.tspc-shop.co.uk/groups and then you need the following usernames and passwords - for the whole school photograph the username is welling and the password is 2009school and for the house photographs the user name is welling and the password is house2009.  After you log-in to the whole school photograph, click the 'add photographs' button on the left of the screen to enter the username and password that you have also been given for your House photographs. This makes it easier for you to see all of your pictures on one screen. You can zoom-in to see a close up of your pictures and click on various frame styles to see how they look. All prices include free delivery to a UK address (overseas delivery is also available). If there is a problem viewing the site please contact the company and not me!

We are still looking for the best solution for sending out the Week Ahead. This week again it has gone out the "old"way - I hope it has arrived with everyone safely. There have been several expressions of preference for this method. One thing you can do is to ensure that my address, rca@wellingtoncollege.org.uk is in your list of contacts if it is not already.

A polite request: could parents keep their dogs on leads and under control, throughout the College campus?  Many schools have banned dogs from games areas and we do not want to have to go this far and hope that we will not have to.

Do you know any bright, well-organised graduates who would be available for some work experience at Wellington?   The Master is currently looking for two recent graduates to work together on a research project for a major activity in 2010, starting immediately for about a month.  Although it is unpaid, it will be an excellent addition to a CV. The graduates will need to be able to come daily to College by car or train. A particular interest in the media and publishing is desirable. Please call Dr David James on 01344 444193, or email David James daj@wellingtoncollege.org.uk for more information.

The Head of Educational Support is available for consultations on Saturdays from 12:00 pm until 4:00 pm.  Please contact Carole Blunden-Lee cjbl@wellingtoncollege.org.uk by e-mail if you would like to see her then.

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.

Sport

Saturday 7th November sees the girls entered into a variety of county 6-a-side hockey tournaments and the rugby is house-based.

On Tuesday 10th November the squash teams welcome Cranleigh whilst on Thursday 12th November, the lacrosse teams travel to Bradfield, the U18 netball side are entered in the U18 SE Berkshire Netball tournament at St. George's Ascot and the rackets team take on Marlborough.

In two calendar additions, on Tuesday 10th November, the Junior Colts Rugby play Pangbourne School in Round 4 of the Daily Mail Cup at home with a 2:30 pm Kick Off and on Wednesday 11th November, the 1st XV travel to Welford Road, Leicester for a very tough match against Sedbergh School with a 7.15 pm Kick Off.

Saturday 14th November sees more netball action at St. Georgre's Ascot, a block rugby fixture with Bedford (and other games against Lord Wandsworth) and a block hockey fixture against Canford. In addition the golf team take on Oxford University.

The Director of Sport sent out a letter to all parents recently. A copy can be found here.

Details of the matches can be found on the intranet.

Further Ahead

The week from Monday 16th November until Friday 20th November is National Anti-bullying week. This year it is focused on cyberbullying. The anti-bullying alliance have put together some useful information to support the week, which includes some advice for parents. It can be found at www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk. During the week pupils will be looking at the College anti-bullying policy and suggesting amendments and useful ideas that can be added to the intranet support available. If you have any suggestions or concerns please contact Liz Worthington, the Senior Mistress.

In the coming weeks, the following events are scheduled by the Music Department:

Friday 20th November, 7:30 pm: Guildhall Brass concert in Old Gym
Wednesday 25th November, 8:00pm: Concert for the Duke of Kent in Old Hall
Thursday 26th November, 8:00 pm: Songwriters' concert in the V&A
Saturday 28th November, 7:30 pm: Crowthorne Choral Society concert in the Chapel
Sunday 6th December, 8:00 pm: Advent Procession With Carols in the Chapel
Sunday13th December, 8:00 pm: Community Carols in the Chapel
Tuesday 15th December, 7:30 pm: Christmas Jazz Concert in the V&A

Apologies but the calendared event of  Thursday 19th November  "An Evening with Iain Duncan Smith, MP"  has been postponed. We will put up details when we have them of the new date.

The Remus Azoitei violin masterclass scheduled on Tuesday 24th November has, unfortunately, been cancelled,

There will be a concert in Old Hall on Wednesday 25th November when the Duke of Kent visits Wellington College. A limited number of tickets are available through the Music Office.
For further information about the Music Department or music events, please make contact with Katrina Butt (Music Administrator) via phone (01344 444201) or email.

The Lower Sixth Parents' Conference is Friday 27th November. A copy of the letter with details about it can be found here.

If you are attending the Shaken and Stirred Ball  to mark the grand finale of the 150th Anniversary celebrations on Friday 27th November, you might like to stay at the Hilton St Anne's Manor in Wokingham, a short taxi ride away.  For preferential B&B rates please contact Daniel Luk on 01256 316950, quoting St Anne's Manor/AWELA.  If you are a Lower Sixth Parent and you would like to use our changing facilities after the parents' conference, please contact Steve Blosse.  Please would table leaders send seating lists to Denise Cook by Wednesday 10th November.

Wellington Squared is a new partnership between Wellington College and Intelligence Squared, the world's leading forum for debate. We'll be bringing the greatest authorities to Wellington to battle it out over the crucial issues of the day and you'll get the chance to cast your vote at the end of the evening. Our first debate is 'Atheism is the new fundamentalism' on Sunday 29th November.  Doors open at 6:00 pm and the debate will start at 7:00 pm. Does God exist? Has atheism replaced religion as the faith of the secular age? Are the new atheists as blinkered and dogmatic as they claim religious believers to be?

Speakers for the motion are Richard Harries, former Bishop of Oxford (and OW!), and Charles Moore, the former editor of the Daily Telegraph and The Spectator. Speakers against the motion are Richard Dawkins, Professor Emeritus at Oxford University and best-selling author of 'The God Delusion' and A C Grayling, Professor of Philosophy at the University of London. The debate will be chaired by the Master. Details of how you may obtain tickets will be announced nearer the time.

Building on the support and success of the Macmillan Coffee Mornings, we will be holding a Christmas Fair in the V & A on Saturday  5th December.  Doors open from 10:00 am to 5;00 pm, we have a variety of stalls that promise to deliver unique and different gifts for those special Christmas presents. All welcome, family and friends, please come and support the event and we hope, purchase a few gifts. There will be something for everyone and it is a wonderful way to meet other members of the College community in comfortable surroundings.  Perhaps this could be linked into having a pre-match lunch in school?  Proceeds will be divided between Hope & Homes  and The Angels Charity.

Contact us

This newsletter and past editions are on the Wellington College website as is a version of the school calendar with details of all activities going on at Wellington for the rest of this term.
If you do not wish to receive further copies of this weekly newsletter, please accept our apologies for sending it to you unsolicited and press here to unsubscribe. If you want it sent to another e-mail address or you know someone wants a copy of it but is not receiving it at present then please click here. If you have any comments about the newsletter please click here.