The Week Ahead
Saturday 17th May until Sunday 1st June
General Events
Sunday 18th May sees a full school Service of the Word at 8:00 p.m. at which the preacher is the Reverend John Caperon, Director of the Bloxham Project.. Stanley parents are cordially invited.
The evening of Monday 19th May sees John Micklethwait, editor of the Economist, is visiting Wellington, dining with the Master and some pupils as well as taking the opportunity to meet several pupils in the Lodge afterwards.
Why not start off your Speech Day weekend on Friday 23rd May with an evening of jazz and popular music provided by The Big Band (with Ben Greenslade-Stanton, jazz musician-in-residence) and the Concert Band (directed by Jeff Oakes) from 7:30 p.m. in the Combermere Quad. Excellent fish and chips will be on sale in Dining Hall and there will be a licensed bar. Bring some garden chairs or a rug and enjoy the music in the company of friends as everyone looks forward to the Speech Day events and the forthcoming half-term break. Proceeds from this event will go to the Alzheimer's Society.
On Friday 23rd May - the Eve of Speech Day - from 7:30pm - 1:00am is one of the social events of the year not to be missed - the WCA Summer Ball. Following the tremendous success of previous years' Summer Balls, the WCA has once again organised a Summer Ball. This will be a superb evening, an event not to be missed before Speech Day, for parents, friends and OWs to enjoy excellent food and wine, first class musical entertainment, Mark Ramprakash as guest speaker, a busy bar and vibrant DJ music until a late hour. Further details from: Reena Price, Tel: 01628 622355 Mobile: 07778 205 112 Email: reena_price@hotmail.com or Tarla Woolhouse at the College, Tel: 01344 444085 or tw@wellingtoncollege.org.uk
Saturday 24th May is one of the highlights of the Wellington calendar with Speech Day. We hope that this year's event will be even better than last year. Festivities start with a chapel service at 8:10 a.m. for the pupils and is followed by speeches and prize-giving in the Newsome Hall for the 3rd, 4th and 5th form from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. - please be seated by 9:20 a.m. We then have another speeches and prize-giving ceremony in the Newsome Hall for the Sixth forms running from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 pm.- please be seated by 11:05 a.m. After that there is the chance for the traditional picnics as well as drinks in houses. The day finishes in a very different format to hitherto with a College Pageant on South Front for which we ask all parents to be seated by 3:55 p.m. This ends with the Master's callover and a singing of the College Song - for those who want to tune up for this, the words, music and even a rendition can be found on the music department section of the intranet! Your child will be given a full copy of the programme and a copy is up on the intranet.
We do hope that the separate speeches and prize giving ceremonies will provide parents with a better chance to wander around the various exhibitions set up for the day. A visit to the Master's Garden and the College Garden is also very worthwhile as they are very much at their best at this time of year.
Your son or daughter will have been given speech day tickets by his or her HM - please ensure you have them. Each student has been given a ticket for themselves and two for their parents. All students are expected to attend the whole of Speech Day. If you are not attending the prize-giving part of Speech Day we would appreciate it if you would be kind enough to return your tickets as we can then issue them to parents who have requested extra tickets. At the moment we do not have any extra tickets for the first session of prize-giving. Extra tickets requested for the second session have been included with the tickets issued to date. If we receive any returns then we will send these out next week to parents who have requested them. Clearly we will try and meet the extras requested if at all possible. The take up of tickets has to date been very strong and so nearly all parents will be able to hear the Speeches on the day. For those who can't make the day, the Master's Address will go up on the intranet on the letters home page after the event.
Alcohol can be an issue on the day. If parents deem it appropriate, then of course sharing a drink with your son or daughter on the day is part of the enjoyment of the day. However we would ask that no pupils wander around and away from your picnic clutching their cans or bottles. Drunkenness and the poor behaviour associated with an over-indulgence of alcohol is of course totally unacceptable and pupils thought to have drunk too much will be sent home straight away. We would ask for your support in helping us make the day enjoyable for all by reinforcing these points with your offspring. The pupils will have been told very clearly in Assembly what they should and should not be doing!
The forecast - for what it is worth a week out - is cloudy with a 20% chance of rain. In exceptional circumstances, the College Pageant might be brought forward, curtailed or even abandoned. We will keep parents informed through the day. Do please come prepared with an umbrella as well as a parasol!
Strawberries and cream, as well as Krispy Kreme donuts, can now be pre-ordered for Speech day. To guarantee your supplies, please e-mail byrdch@wellingtoncollege.org.uk by Monday 19th May and specify the quantity required. These can then be picked up and paid for on Speech Day. Prices for Donuts: £8.60 for 12; £4.40 for 6; Strawberries and Cream: £2 for 1 portion; £7 for 4 portions. This summer six 5th formers are cycling 1000 miles in twelve days, to raise money for Cancer Research. Some of the proceeds collected will go towards their grand total, and help them to reach their fundraising goals. The rest will go to a school in South Sudan. The south of Sudan has four teachers per 800 students with only 1% of girls receiving even a basic education. While celebrating Wellington's impressive year, it seems very timely to raise money to build a local secondary school for people returning to their homes after a brutal civil war. The project, run by HART, is in a region with no secondary school.
Debbie Arnold, the Domestic Services Manager, and Anthony Peter, the Green Czar, regret that they are not yet geared up to operate a recycling litter collection system on Speech Day as part of our drive to make Wellington more environmentally responsible. They would like, therefore, to ask all visitors to College that day to take as much recyclable litter as possible home with them, in particular glass and plastic bottles, paper and card of all kinds, and cans. Anything else can, of course, be put in the litter bins round the grounds. The Head Groundsman also requests that all gazebos do go home with you - and importantly all their pegs too. Pegs left in the grass can seriously damage his mowing equipment.
The end of Speech Day marks the start of the Exeat. We look forward to welcoming back your sons and daughters by 9:15 p.m. on Sunday 1st June.
Study leave has started for many pupils now. You should have received a separate e-mail with details about that if your son or daughter is an external exam candidate. A copy of what was sent can be found here.
An extensive and mixed programme of academic and other activities has been organised for the Lower Sixth when they return from study leave, and all pupils are expected to participate fully in this, through to the end of term. An outline is in the calendar. Boarders should be back on the evening of Sunday 8th June, and day boys should be ready to be in early on Monday morning because some of that day's trips leave well before the usual start time. Particular attention is drawn to Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th June, when the whole Lower Sixth year group will be participating in a 32 mile overnight walk. This is a new venture, very similar in spirit to the "50 Mile March" at Charterhouse, albeit 18 miles shorter! We have asked the pupils not to arrange university open days in that two day period; there will be other chances to make such visits. Please direct any queries about the post-AS programme to the Head of the Lower Sixth, Murray Fowler.
The Wellingtonian end of year magazine will be accepting classified and display advertising again this year. If you would like more details please contact Denise Cook before the end of Exeat.
From time to time we receive requests for UVIth Formers, who have passed their driving test, to have permission to drive cars to Wellington. We have a very strict line on this; our policy is that permission will only be granted if parents can show that it is a necessity for their child to have a car here. We cannot give permission on the basis of mere convenience. We would also take into account the behaviour and performance of the pupil concerned. We take this strict line because we wish to keep our campus and pupils safe. In the past years 6th Formers have been involved in some nasty car accidents; two years ago in the holidays a group of senior pupils were lucky to escape from a car with only minor injuries. If you wish your son or daughter to be able to drive a car at Wellington you should write to the Second Master, Robin Dyer, making clear why you think it is a necessity for this permission to be given. He will consult with the relevant Housemaster or Housemistress before a decision is taken. Under no circumstances must pupils drive to Wellington, keep cars here or in Crowthorne, without written permission from the Second Master.
Increasingly we are putting information for parents on the school intranet set. In particular the handbook for pupils with information for both pupils and parents is now electronic and can be found under the section of the intranet called info@community. Some parents have had problems logging on to the intranet. You do need to click on the log -in link at the top right of the page. The general parents' username is COLLEGE\victoria (if you are offered three boxes COLLEGE is the domain and victoria is the username). The general parents' password is the name of the O.W. on the plaque by the Round Square noticeboard at Queen's Court and must be entered in capitals. Hopefully your son or daughter can supply that information. If not, then ask me! There is information on the intranet to help you and this can be found at http://intranet.wellingtoncollege.org.uk/login_help.htm
Sport
Saturday 17th May sees the cricket teams taking on Cranleigh, the girls tennis play Sevenoaks, the boys tennis compete in their leagues at a variety of schools, the swimmers travel to Charterhouse, the sailing team compete with Sherborne and finally the polo team take on the RMA Sandhurst - quite a day! Please however note that the Dukes trophy triathlon event has been cancelled. Sunday 18th May sees the shooting team in action in the Berkshire Open and the polo team take on Stowe.
On Saturday 17th May, teas are as ever in the Master's Lodge. Do please make the effort to go there to admire the fantastic laburnum arch that is right at its peak currently - as well of course as the carrot cake!
On Tuesday 20th May, the golf team travel to Charterhouse. Thursday 22nd May sees a variety of fixtures with the sailing and polo teams competing with Harrow, the tennis teams taking on Tonbridge, the swimming teams competing with Cranleigh and the golf team travelling to Marlborough . Friday 23rd May and Saturday 24th May see our annual cricket fixture for the 1st XI against the Old Wellingtonians.
Cricket results are on the Schools Cricket website, all other results can be found on the school intranet site .
Further Ahead
On Monday 2nd June in the Driver Lecture Room at 7:30 for 8:00 p.m. we welcome Sam Weller talking on "How positive thinking will change your life." An excellent speaker, Sam Weller is the Director of Training at Give yourself the Edge. He maintains "The subconscious mind is the most dominant part of your mind. You use it every day without knowing it. Just imagine how you would feel if you could hit your targets, feel confident at all times, give great public speaking performances, no longer suffered from crippling anxiety, be a slave to habits, in fact you could realise your true potential." He believes that we live in a fast paced world that does not take any prisoners and if you feel confident and relaxed then you can survive and succeed. He has a no nonsense approach, totally geared to giving you that "edge".
With the recent glorious weather in mind don't forget to book your tickets for the Wellington College Summer Promenade Concert on the evening of Saturday June 7th. Full details to be found at www.wellingtoncollege.org.uk/events
Promenade tickets bought in advance are £20 for adults, £10 for children (under 5's go free) and £50 for a family ticket (2 + 2). There are still a few spaces left in the Hospitality Marquee; these all inclusive dining tickets represent fantastic value at £60 per person (tables of 10 if you'd like to get a party together) with a drinks reception, three course dinner with wine, cheese and biscuits, coffee and reserved seats in front of the bandstand for the concert. Please email reception at info@wellingtoncollege.org.uk if you would like to know more about the Hospitality Tickets. Profits from the evening will be shared between two local charities: COATS and Sebastian's Action Trust:.
The Wellington College ArtsFest runs from Tuesday 24th June to Thursday 26th June. The purpose of the festival is to raise the profile of the Arts at Wellington through a combination of student productions and exhibitions, professional workshops and performances. On each of the three days there is at least one major event which parents, pupils, OWs, friends and the local community are able to attend, by applying for tickets. Other events, such as student productions are open to all and there is no need to claim a ticket.
We are delighted to announce that on Tuesday 24th June, the renowned writer Jeanette Winterson (Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, Sexing the Cherry and most recently The Stone Gods) will be talking about writing and other related topics with Mrs Moneypenny, distinguished columnist for the Financial Times. (Theatre, 8pm)
On Wednesday 25th June, we have double the pleasure, with Rory Bremner (OW) returning to College for some stand-up and some Q and A at 5.15pm in the marquee (£10). The Garden Opera Company will be performing Don Pasquale (sung in English) in the College Garden. The performance starts at 7:00 p.m. and guests are invited to bring a picnic for the interval. The Box Office is now open for this event and tickets are only £25 per person. Box Office No. 01344 444239 or email development@wellingtoncollege.org.uk
On Thursday 26th June, the David Rees-Williams Trio will be performing in the Old Gym (£10). The Trio's latest CD Thinking Allowed was released in February 2007. Featuring regularly on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM's new station, theJazz, it has been widely and unanimously acclaimed as one of the outstanding albums of its genre.
We are currently putting together the full programme of events which shall be distributed to parents and pupils just after half term. However, if you wish to book for any of the events above you may do so now by contacting Reception via info@wellingtoncollege.org.uk . Other open events you might be interested in include: The London Jazz Collective Big band (Tuesday 4:00 p.m.); a lunchtime concert featuring Tom Humphries (OW) and Chris Warner on Wednesday; the 4th Form play Faust on Thursday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. or at 5:00 p.m. a recital by Tom Lowe and Steph Tress.
On Friday 27th June we are having the Leavers' Service, Graduation Ceremony and Ball. All Upper VI parents were sent information about the above event in March. The deadline for the reply was 16th May. As quite a lot of parents and pupils have not applied yet we have extended the deadline to Wednesday 21st May. If you wish to attend the Ball please complete the letter, a copy of which can be found here. Last year's celebration was a fantastic occasion and we aim this year to make it even more special to mark the departure of what has been an exceptionally good Upper Sixth Form.
Although not a Wellington event, many pupils have come to us from Hall Grove prep school and I draw your attention to their event, Groove at the Grove, happening on Saturday 5th July. Live bands on a covered stage with a host of other events should make for an enjoyable evening. More inform and pre-booking tickets can be made via their website.
There is a proposed Art trip to Paris and Giverny from Friday 12th September to Sunday 14th September for parents. This is a fantastic chance to sample the cultural delights of Paris and Monet's stunning gardens in Giverny. It is envisaged that the price for the trip will be around £350 and include flights, 3* accommodation, breakfast and evening meals and the 24 hour services of a tour director. For more information contact Mr Laurence Hedges Director of Art.