The Week Ahead
Saturday 13th June until Sunday 21st June
The Master's Voice
Grand opening of the new sports pavilion. Please make a note in your diary now of Saturday 12th September, which will see the formal opening of the sports pavilion. We are organising matches so that all pupils will be able to see the 1st XV play Whitgift on that day. The band will be playing, there will be a barbeque and activities. I do hope you will be able to join us. We are hoping for a real carnival atmosphere. The pavilion will be remarkable both inside and out, and I very much hope that all parents, whether you have sons or daughters, will want to take the opportunity of walking through and enjoying our latest building.
We are looking forward to a wonderful rugby season, with pupils participating in more tournaments than ever before. The U15s will be remaining in the Daily Mail competition which we have been in for many years. Tournaments at Blackrock in Ireland and Sedbergh in Yorkshire replace the U18 Daily Mail, which we entered four years ago for a limited period only, and which does not provide the level of competition for our players that these other two tournaments will. With our new appointments, the level of rugby coaching throughout the school will be higher than ever. The appointment of Mark Pearn, ex-England and GB hockey captain, and manager of the team that won the National Club title, will greatly help the quality of our girls' hockey coaching next term, and the boys' hockey in the Lent term. He is a major addition to our gifted sports coaching team.
General Events
There are still some tickets for the RSC's "As you like it" in Stratford on Saturday 13th June. We leave Wellington by minibus at 4:00pm, arriving in time for a pre-theatre supper and stroll along the banks for the Avon and return after the play. The cost is £50 per person, to include ticket and minibus. Contact Denise Cook for details.
Sunday 14th June sees an 8:00pm full school Eucharist at which the preacher is the Bishop of Grimsby. Although it is the "turn" of the Lynedoch parents in Chapel, with study leave there will be many gaps and all parents are invited to come and hear the Bishop preach if they so wish.
All Lower Sixth parents should have received a detailed e-mail from Murray Fowler about the forthcoming Ridgeway Challenge on Sunday 14th June. If not, do please contact Murray Fowler. The event is a repeat of last year's successful inaugural one, and sees all Lower Sixth pupils walking through the night along a section of the Ridgeway National Trail, for a distance almost exactly double that of the 150th College Walk. Vital pieces of kit are comfortable trainers or walking boots, decent socks, a warm 'hoody' (or a sweatshirt and a woolly hat), a torch and a water bottle. The Challenge starts late on the evening of Sunday 14th June, and finishes by lunchtime Monday, with the rest of the day off to recover! If pupils wish to seek sponsorship for this, the 150th charity Hope and Homes is a logical focus for that.
On Monday 15th June the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and Lower VIth will be presenting their dance works from the Summer term. The 3rd form have choreographed "The Doll House" - a mad professor creates weird and wonderful dolls which come to life, The 4th form's stimulus is "The eight aptitudes" . The 5th and Lower VIth are showing their GCSE and A Level exam pieces. Curtain up is at 7:30 pm.
Letters have been sent home to Third Form parents regarding the trip to Wales between the 15th and the 19th June. The Parent Consent Forms and Codes of Conduct are here. A copy of the kit list can also be found here.
The 5th Form will be celebrating the end of their exams in style at a black-tie dinner on Wednesday 17th June from 8:00 pm until10.30 pm in the Dining Hall at College. As most of them finish their last exam on Wednesday, it will be a timely party! Dinner, music, pictures, awards. Pupils may be picked up soon after 10.30pm if they are not spending the night at Wellington. Further details can be obtained from the Head of Year, Cressida Henderson.
On Waterloo Day, Thursday 18th June, we are proud to be hosting a Master's lecture entitled "Wellington - The Iron Duke" by the celebrated military historian and television presenter Richard Holmes, best known for his BBC Series War Walks and The Western Front. Educated at Cambridge (scholar of Emmanuel College), Northern Illinois and Reading Universities (PhD 1975), he then taught at RMA Sandhurst and has worked for Cranfield University since 1986, setting up the Security Studies Institute and now serving as co-director of the Security and Resilience Group. Professor Holmes is President of the British Commission for Military History and the Battlefields Trust; Patron of the Guild of Battlefield Guides; Chairman of Project Hougoumont; Member of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Armouries; Vice President, UK National Defence Association and was a Colonel of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment between 1999 and 2007. If you would like to attend this lecture please email Tarla Woolhouse - all members of the community are welcome.
In order to help our current Lower Sixth students choose their Universities and courses, Matt Oakman has organised to host a Universities Fair evening on Friday 19th June as advertised in the summer term calendar. An email has been sent to all these parents formally inviting them to this event in the hope that it will help them, together with their sons and daughters, to begin the process of selecting the institutions that they want to attend after leaving Wellington. It will provide at 6:00 pm all the information on the UCAS application procedure, with a panel session where pressing questions can be put to the Directors of Admissions at some leading Universities (including a representative of the American Universities) and at 7:00 pm an opportunity to visit the University stands afterwards. All of the leading Universities will be represented by either a member of their admissions department or an Old Wellingtonian who is currently studying at that institution. The Lower Sixth will have started the UCAS process during that week and it will be of particular relevance to them at this time. Finally at 8:30 pm there is a buffet supper for all in Dining Hall.
Also on Friday 19th June three Lower Sixth music scholars will perform at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London as part of their lunchtime recital series. The performers are Jonny Leon (Bl) - Violin, Trishan Vaikunthanathan (Hl) - Clarinet and Anton Crayton (Wn) - 'Cello. The recital starts at 1:00pm and will last approximately 45 minutes. Your support at this concert would be most welcome and appreciated. For more information please use the following link
The Third Form play, Twelfth Night, directed by members of the Lower Sixth will be performed on Saturday 20th June at 11:00 am on the Theatre Steps. All are welcome.
On Saturday 20th June IB students will be making presentation to their peer group on practical work they have been undertaking on the general theme of 'Time'. The group 4 project allows students to appreciate the environmental, social and ethical implications of science and technology. It may also allow them to understand the limitations of scientific study, for example, the shortage of appropriate data and/or the lack of resources. The emphasis is on interdisciplinary cooperation and the processes involved in scientific investigation, rather than the products of such investigations. All parents of IB students are warmly invited to attend the group 4 presentations. They will commence at 9:30 am in Great School where displays of pupils work will also be on show.
Also on Saturday 20th June we host our annual Summer Proms. Details are on the flyer to the right. Click for the online bookings.
The Wellington College ArtsFest 2009 is on from Sunday 21st June to Thursday 25th June. Once again we have a glittering array of exhibitions, performances and speakers, including the London Mozart Players on the Sunday evening, Wellington's first opera, Purcell's Dido and Aeneas (Monday and Tuesday evening), the Wellington College Fashion Show (Wednesday), featuring pupils' work from the year, author and OW Sebastian Faulks and actress Greta Scacchi (White Mischief, Brideshead Revisited, Defence of the Realm - Wednesday). All this and more!! Details and ticket information will soon be on its way. Unfortunately actor Matthew Macfadyen (Spooks, Pride and Prejudice, Frost/Nixon) now has shooting commitments and will not be there - he hopes to come in the Spring of 2010.
Parents receiving PDF files from the Master, and other college communication, who are experiencing difficulty downloading the files will need the latest version of Adobe Acrobat in order to obtain these files. Please click here for a link to download it.
Two of our the pupils, the McCreadies, are planning over the summer to climb the three peaks (Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon) and cycle the 400 miles in-between. This link tells you more. They write "We are doing this in order to raise money for two charities CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) and Holidays 4 Heroes. Holidays 4 Heroes funds holidays for some servicemen wounded in action and families of those killed in action. The charity also provides the basis for those in urgent need. In order to help us raise money for Holidays 4 Heroes the Army have donated a parachute jump with the Red Devils for us to auction. So, if you like the idea of jumping out of a plane at 13, 000ft strapped to a big paratrooper, then please contact me with a bid at MCCREAGA@wellingtoncollege.org.uk "
Please be reassured that we are maintaining a close watch on developments with swine flu and our policy is available on the intranet. Should you have any concerns, do please contact the medical centre.
The Master has made repeated statements about sensible use of social time on the weekends particularly advising careful use of alcohol at parties. This issue is perhaps even more crucial as we move into the 18th birthday party season clashing with the exam period. Clearly we want the students enjoying themselves at social occasions but it is essential that they return to school after the weekend refreshed and ready for the pressures of revision and exams. This point is even more compelling with the recent tragedy involving school students in Oxford when it seems that the combination of alcohol, parties and cars ended up in tragedy. The Second master wishes to reiterate the college policy that permission to drive cars to and from Wellington will only be given when there is evidence of necessity - convenience he is afraid will not be a sufficient reason.
Parents are invited to bring uniform that has been outgrown into the College Shop for re-sale. There will be regular Nearly New Uniform Sale Days ( to be advised) following which payments will be made in respect of items that are sold. The system will be as follows:
Items for sale must be clean and in good repair and must be current uniform
Each item should be labelled with your name and a brief description, such as ' Boy's Jacket 34"' but not priced
All items will be sold at half the current average purchase price for the same garment, if new. When sold, 50% will go to the parent selling the item and 50% to the College Shop
If any item remains unsold after 12 months it can either be collected by the parent donor or it will become the property of the College.
Parents may not be aware that the College Shop ( Grubbies) received a makeover during the Easter Holidays. It is now run by the College, with the assistance of Lester Bowden Ltd and is much brighter and more welcoming. The opening hours have been standardised to 9:00 am and 5:45 pm, Monday to Friday inclusive and between11.00 am and 5:00 pm on Saturdays. The range of sportswear and sports equipment has been increased and will continue to be extended. We intend that the College Shop should become the local Sports Shop for the local as well as for the Wellington community. The College Shop continues to offer tuck, drinks, toiletries, stationery and uniform for both Wellington College and Eagle House School. If there are items that you consider we should be offering, do speak to either Sue Roy ( Manager) or Gill Sherwood ( Assistant Manager) who will be delighted to welcome you.
In order to commemorate the 150th anniversary of College, the Old Wellingtonian Cricket Club has commissioned the internationally renowned cricketing artist Jocelyn Galsworthy to paint the scene of the 150th Speech Day on Turf against the classic and beautiful backdrop of the College buildings and pavilion. Jocelyn has painted cricket grounds around the world as well as a number of school and club grounds, and she will be seen later this summer at Lord's and other test venues painting the Ashes series. Those of you who strolled around Turf on Speech Day may well have seen her at work, and she returns again in late June to complete the painting. The painting will hang in the Bigside pavilion at its opening and the OWCC has further commissioned a limited edition of 250 prints of the painting each of which will be signed by the artist. The signed prints will be 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 has resulted in a substantial amount of interest, and a number of prints have already been sold. If you would like to reserve a print please e-mail Mark Milliken-Smith, Chairman of OWCC, as soon as possible - apologies ot those who tried the link last week and it failed to work.
Whilst on the theme of prints, an OW is selling two framed prints of Wellington from drawings by John Western, each numbered 75 out of a limited edition of 650. These were promoted by the school in the early 1980s and are in elegant gilt frames. They measure respectively 65cm x 42cm (North Front) and 79cm x 41cm (an elongated full view of South Front with the chapel as can be seen to the right) If anyone is interested please contact Chris Potter in the OW office.
Time for a summer clear out - there is a final collection this term for clean 'old' bras for the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice in Farnham . The Hospice receives a £1 for every kilo donated, 20 bras = approx 1 kilo. The bras are re-furbished etc and sent out to help 'support women and girls in lesser developed countries' [ excuse the pun ] Bra banks are in the Wellesley, Apsley, Orange and Combermere or bag up and give to Carole Blunden-Lee.
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
The sporting week starts on Saturday 13th June with cricket fixtures with Charterhouse, tennis matches against Cranleigh, the shooting team taking on the OWs and the sailing team travelling to Poole to compete with Sherborne.
Thursday 18th June sees the boy tennis players compete with Bradfield whilst the girls take on Charterhouse.
On Saturday 20th June there is a big cricket fixture against Radley, the athletes compete at Marlborough, the tennis teams take on Epsom and the sailors compete with the OWs.
Details of all fixtures and results can be found on the Wellington College Intranet.
Further Ahead
Another part of our fund raising for Hope and Homes is a Charity Cycle Ride from Calais to Cannes via Waterloo and following the Napoleon route.This is scheduled for the first fortnight of the summer holidays. Effectively the route skirts the eastern edge of France via Lille and then Dijon before cutting to Grenoble and finally Cannes. If anyone has accommodation - whether a field to camp in or a house to stay in - on this route and would be prepared for the cycle team to stay there for one night, please contact David Walker.
This year's Wellington College Leadership Course running from Tuesday 28th July to Thursday 30th July will be a stimulating balance of practical activities, theory and discussion. Over the week, students will experience the challenges and rewards of leading a team and gain an understanding of leadership across a broad range of contexts. Participants will produce a personal leadership development plan, tailored to their strengths, weaker areas and leadership style. This course will be ideal for students aged 15-18 years, who are keen to develop their leadership potential. It will provide an excellent opportunity for development of leadership attributes and build confidence in a structured, encouraging and enjoyable environment. Last year's students on the course said: "The course is one of the best experiences I've ever had...there are so many things that I can take from this course into later life"; "The facts I will take away from this course are GOLD!"; "I learnt more than I thought I could".For more information, please contact Gareth Pearson or Katy Granville-Chapman . Alternatively, please visit: www.wellingtoncollege.org.uk/leadership .
This is the last call for the Waterloo trip - there are ten places newly available! This once in a lifetime overnight trip to Waterloo over the weekend of 26th/27th September promises to be a highlight of Wellington's 150th Anniversary celebration. Join Dr Seldon and the WCA for a Saturday night banquet in Brussels followed by overnight accommodation at the 5* Hotel Amigo, and a Sunday morning tour of the Waterloo battlefield, guided by eminent military historian Richard Holmes. Contact Denise Cook to book your place.