The Week Ahead

Saturday 20th June until Friday 26th June

You should have received a "bonus" Week Ahead in mid-week from the Master about the Arts Festival. It does promise to present a fantastic range of events and I hope that many of you will come to a variety of them.

Finally may I take the opportunity to hope that everyone does have a great Summer. We look forward to welcoming the boarders back on the evening of Sunday 6th September and the day pupils the morning after.

The Master's Voice

Richard Holmes, Britain's best known military historian, gave a sparkling talk to a large audience of parents and pupils on Waterloo Day, 18th June, entitled 'Wellington from Ireland to Waterloo', often having the audience in stitches. It made all those present deeply proud of the College and our heritage. One student asked him what we can learn about leadership from Wellington, and he replied, "Service, duty, hard work and looking after others". These virtues perfectly embody the themes that we promote with leadership at Wellington, as we begin from September teaching leadership to all our pupils from 13 to 18. For me, these virtues also illustrate the difference between true and false traditions. My biggest concern on coming to Wellington three and a half years ago was the pockets of the community where pupils treated younger children and girls as second class citizens because of some outdated notion of 'respect'. This 'old Wellington' faux-tradition is of course utterly unworthy as well as ahistorical, and I am glad that it has now all but disappeared. I congratulate the pupils led by the U6th for spearheading the transition. I cannot accept arrogance in anyone, least of all in public school children, who have every reason to be grateful for what they have. In its place, we return to the values of the first Duke of Wellington and indeed to the traditions of 'Godliness', which inspired our founding. The perfect example of the leadership Wellington admires, as Mark Boobbyer reminded us in Chapel two weeks ago, is that of Jesus, who saw leadership as being all about humility and serving others. This truly is Wellington College.

General Events

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. Parents returning after 6:00 pm on this Saturday can gain access to College via the Sports Club car park and from west to east (and vice versa) - alternatively from West Gate to the Mordaunt Gate - via South Front which will be open. Talbot and Beresford access from the Kilometre closes at 6:00 pm although the main gates to Waterloo Road will be left unlocked.

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.

Term ends on Friday 26th June and the pupils, aside from the leavers, should be free from 1:30 pm The leavers and their parents should have received full details of the graduation programme by separate mail.

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.

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

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.

That aside the other sport of the week is a series of cricket fixtures against touring sides.

Details of all fixtures and results can be found on the Wellington College Intranet.

Further Ahead

Multithon Events for Hopes and Homes. Here is a brief report from David Walker who is coordinating the multithon. "One down. Two to go. On Sunday 7th June 18 staff (16 runners and 2 drivers) set out to run from Wellington College to Dover, each doing one or two stages. Covering over 140 miles, the staff encountered mud, flooded paths, lost motorcyclists, bulls, a rabid Alsatian and hills - lots of hills. Some were described as the 'north face of the Eiger'. A last minute substitution saw the Master joining the team. He was slotted in to do the first half of one of the toughest legs, from Blue Bell Hill to Detling. We have not seen him since but we have been told he is fine and his mobile phone still has some charge left. The run is part of the three stage charity challenge to reach the south of France. The swimmers will be braving the English Channel in August whilst the cyclists will be pitting their wits against the French roads in early July.

On Sunday 28th June, 17 intrepid staff will set off for Calais to start an epic cycle ride to the south of France travelling via Waterloo. The 800 mile trip will follow the Route Napoleon over the Alps to Cannes. All staff were excited about the historical connections with this, until they saw the altitudes involved. To the right is a typical day's profile across the mountains.This has prompted a frantic level of training and the roads of Crowthorne have been awash with Common Room on their bikes. Some staff are more prepared than others, however the image to the left shows there is a way to go in some cases.

We are all working to raise money for the 150th Anniversary charity - Hopes and Homes for Children. Any contributions would be welcome and I have set up the following website if you would like to support the cycle ride specifically: http://www.justgiving.com/whhcycleride. Alternatively, the central site for all the school's events is:http://www.justgiving.com/whh. Many thanks for your support."

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.

In November we are offering again the chance for university interview preparation with video for the current Lower Sixth pupils. A letter is included in the end of term booklet and an electronic copy is available via this link. In outline, the course is run by an independent consultant and offered through ISCO. The cost is £85 (incl. VAT). 50 places are available and will be offered on a first come first served basis. If you wish your son or daughter to take part, please contact the outgoing Head of Careers, Dr Elaine Hood, by letter or emailing emh@wellingtoncollege.org.uk.

For many years Wellington has taken advantage of the Independent Schools Careers Organisation (ISCO) Student Scheme - now called Futurewise - to provide an objective starting point for finding suitable career and higher education choices. We enrol almost all our 5th form pupils in early October each year. A letter explaining this in more detail is contained in the end of term booklet, together with a leaflet about the scheme. An electronic copy of the letter from the outgoing Head of Careers is available via this link. More detail about the Futurewise scheme can be found at this website http://www.myfuturewise.org.uk/defaultpage121bc1.aspx?pageID=20 Only parents who do NOT wish their son or daugher to be enrolled need to contact Dr Elaine Hood, either in writing or via emailing emh@wellingtoncollege.org.uk.