The Week Ahead

Saturday 15th May until Sunday 23rd May

Wednesday of this week was a chance for all the community to get out their cameras to record "A day in the life at Wellington" and enter a competiton for the best images. Below are some of the photos taken.

Stressed out exam pupils.  Much has been written in the press about stress on school students, as if this is a totally new phenomenon.  For five years, Wellington has been talking about pupil well-being.  Exams are a stressful time for the young.  So is life, actually, for the young, and the not so young!  But if pupils follow Wellington�s advice in the ten point plan and elsewhere, and apply the guidance they have been given, it will make the exam period much more pleasant as well as, importantly, much more successful.  Your support in underlining these lessons is very much appreciated.  For the record, the key points can be summarised as: sleep � a minimum of eight hours a night, to ensure maximum retention and mental alertness; exercise � breaking sweat three times a week enhances optimism and physical health; regular hydration and good food � gives energy and promotes health and alertness; rest � each weekend for sure, and ideally once a day, they should enjoy some good downtime to assist recovery;  a positive outlook � a belief that one can achieve at a very high level, and a determination to succeed; calm � especially when reading the questions inside exam rooms, so that each candidate follows exactly what the examiner is looking for; resilience � not being deterred by what they think is a bad question or paper, which may well have been very good, but which will detract from their subsequent performance in papers if they don�t put it out of their mind; appreciation � of what each candidate has achieved, of their teachers and colleagues, so that the atmosphere is positive and believing; good relationships � ensuring that they seek out their teachers for guidance, advice and support, and that they enjoy positive relations with their peers; service � not forgetting that even under times of great stress, they can also think of and support others, which breaks down a sense of isolation and solitariness; kindness - to themselves and others.  The school will be returning to well-being with even more vigour in September.  Meanwhile, please note that there are still some spaces on the life and career changing six day course at Wellington from 5th-10th July run by the expert team from Pennsylvania University.

General Events

As GCSE, AS and A2 exams approach, please note the rules for Study Timetable, when normal lessons are suspended to allow pupils in exam years to study according to their own needs and examination schedules.  Pupils are expected to stay in College where they can benefit from access to teachers, revision workshops and resources.  Only with the mutual agreement of HMs and parents will they be allowed to work from home.  All pupils have access to a central schedule of revision workshops and are encouraged to see their teachers by appointment during what would normally be lesson times in order to go through practice papers and revision questions.  It is vital that pupils in the exam years plan their studies with the aid of a study timetable and we would ask all parents to encourage good study habits, which include time management, working in a quiet place, taking short breaks, repeated self-testing, taking notes rather than just reading, and doing plenty of practice papers. 

Pupils' personal examination entries and timetables can be accessed via the on-line parent portal (http://parents.wellingtoncollege.org.uk).  Pupils should have checked their own entries and timetables in houses but we also ask all parents to check and to contact the Examinations Office  if they have any questions.  Other information about exam study, revision workshops and exam well-being can be accessed via the college intranet.

Sunday 16th May sees an Evensong service that is led by the students. Parents of the pupils in the Lynedoch are warmly invited to attend.

Wednesday 19th May provides an opportunity to come and listen to Lt General Jonathan Riley deliver a Master�s Lecture on "Napoleon as a General" in the Driver Lecture Room at 8:00 pm.  He will be giving a powerful powerpoint presentation covering Napoleon as a leader and a strategist.  If you would like to attend please email Tarla Woolhouse . Lt General Riley will be signing his latest book Napoleon as a General.  These will be available on the night for �20 each (cash or cheques only, payable to J. Riley).

Do you want to know more about how parents can further their own well-being as well as that of their children? On Thursday 20th May, WCA is hosting a lecture by Yasmine Diba on �Emotional Intelligence� at 8:00pm in the Driver Lecture Rooms.  Owing to the level of demand we have increased the number of places available, so if you would like to come and haven�t yet been in touch, please let us know.

The next parents' Golf  event will be held on Saturday 22nd May at the Wellington College golf course. It will be a nine hole event and parents should meet at the golf course for 9.30 am. They can of course come earlier for a few holes of practice to warm up or have a coffee in the Vand A before playing. Any interested parent should contact David Rennie by email.

Saturday 22nd May is a closed Saturday night for the Third Form as Third Form Grandparents Day is on Sunday 23rd May. We are fully aware of the role grandparents play in the life of our students and the importance of the extended family and would like to take this opportunity to invite grandparents of our Third Formers to visit Wellington College, have a tour and see some of what their grandchildren do here. The event is now fully booked.

There is a full school (aside from the Third form) Eucharist on Sunday 23rd May at which Canon Keith Wilkinson, the Senior Chaplain at Eton College, is officiating. Parents of pupils in the Picton are warmly invited.

All parents of pupils in the Fifth Form are asked to advise Mrs Sally Yarnton of details of your son�s or daughter�s work experience. Click here for more information.

The Summer edition of the WCA List is out now. Click on this link to browse this term�s exciting programme of events.

Sara Blosse is a parent of pupils in the Hardinge, the Raglan and the Wellesley and is married to our Assistant Bursar, Steve. She writes "I am raising money for the wonderful �Angels� charity (we have had Angels Nigeria and Angels South Africa visit us over the last 2 years) who are hoping to bring children over from Rwanda and The Sudan this year.  To do this I and another silly person will be attempting the Three Peaks Challenge (Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon); this is usually a �do it in 24hours or less� challenge but to quote �we are 2 middle aged not-that-fit  women� so the achievement will be to complete it!  Please, please give generously; the challenge is taking place in July when all will be on holiday hence the request now! If you feel moved to sponsor then please leave cheques (made payable to Angels) in envelopes at Porters Lodge for the attention of S Blosse.  Many humble thanks.  Part of the training is the Moon Walk in June in Edinburgh a 26 mile walk starting at midnight."

The Wellington College Parent Portal is up and running and all current parents should now have accounts. This means that parents can log on to our website from anywhere in the world and view their child�s reports, internal and external exam timetables, results and other relevant information. Besides being more convenient for parents it will, in the long term, allow us to cut down on the amount of printing we do - all part of our sustainability drive. Follow the instructions you have received and you should have access straight away. There is some information about the Portal here.

Sport.

On last Sunday's Sports' day there was a company in taking photos called Kickphoto. If you would like to see or purchase the images they have then click on this link  and type Wellington into the search box in the on-line gallery. There are also cricket photos there from last week.

Saturday 15th May sees a block cricket fixture against Cranleigh, the boy athletes compete against Eton , the girl athletes against Epsom and the tennis teams compete with Bradfield.

The School show jumping team are competing in the mounted services class at Royal Windsor Horse Show in front of HRH the Queen on Saturday 22nd May. Any support would be welcome!

The polo teams are competing in a tournament over the weekend and the girls' cricket team are in the Epsom Festival on Sunday 16th May.

On Tuesday 18th May the sailing team welcome Harrow whilst of Thursday 20th May they travel to Bough Beech Reservoir to compete in the Tonbridge "Feva" fleet race. Also on Thursday 20th May, the tennis team take on Harrow and the swimmers Charterhouse.

Saturday 22nd May sees a block fixture in cricket against  Eton , an athletics match with Cranleigh, boys' tennis taking on Radley  as well as competing in a tournament and the girls' tennis taking on Downe House and Cheltenham Ladies College.

Further Ahead

We look forward to the Eve of Speech Day Jazz Concert on Friday 28th May at 7:30 pm, featuring the Wellington College Big Band and Concert Band � please come along to start the Eve of Speech Day celebrations at the Combermere Quad.

The Eagle House Children�s Literature Festival runs from Monday 14th June  to Friday 18th June.  Throughout the week we will be joined by some of the top children�s authors including: Jamila Gavin, Anne Fine, Marcus Sedgwick, Tim Bowler and Brian Patten.  One author of special interest for older students is Mark Billingham, author of the DC Thorne novels, writer of the Triskellion series for younger readers and a renowned stand-up comic. All authors will be giving talks and presentations and parents, children, teachers are all encouraged to join us for the events throughout the week.  We will have our own Waterstones store on site, a caf� run by Capers of Crowthorne and all events will take place in our festival marquee. The link to the Festival page on our website is:  www.eaglehouseschool.com/childrens-literature-festival.htm

A Universities Fair evening will be held on Friday 18th June for Lower Sixth students and parents. For more  details, please click here.

Also in June, we are very pleased to play host the London Mozart Players, Wellington�s Orchestra-in-Residence, for an exciting concert conducted by Hilary Davan Wetton to mark the beginning of ArtsFest. Please come along on Sunday 27th June at 8:00 pm to experience a fantastic programme, featuring works by Mozart, Britten and Gluck.

Wellington College proudly presents Billy Elliot The Musical! An invigorating, exciting and uplifting show, Billy Elliot will be performed throughout Arts Fest, with our opening night on the Monday 28th June running until Thursday 1st July in the Theatre. Tickets are on sale now, but hurry as we have already begun to sell out! To order tickets contact reception at boxoffice@wellingtoncollege.org.uk

On Tuesday 29th June, as part of the Wellington Arts Festival, the leading fashion designer Amanda Wakeley will be interviewed by the FT�s Mrs Moneypenny about the business of fashion, her life and what inspires her designs. As part of the evening, Amanda is looking for at least two mother/daughter combinations (or even teacher/pupil) to model some of her current clothes and show how they work across the generations. Her clothes include day and evening wear and go up to size 16, so you don�t need to be catwalk standard sizes to volunteer! Fittings would be during half term at the Amanda Wakeley flagship store in Chelsea. Amanda Wakeley launched her signature label in 1990 and over the last two decades has developed an international reputation for designing stylish, supremely luxurious, womenswear and accessories. This year Amanda was awarded an OBE for her services to the fashion industry. She is the winner of several awards including three British Fashion Awards for Glamour and is Founder and co-Chair of Fashion Targets Breast Cancer, a charity through which she has helped raise over �10m for Breast Cancer research. Please email Bridget Bowen at Amanda Wakeley if you would like to volunteer to model as part of this event.

A diary date for all Upper Sixth pupils and parents is the Leavers� Service, Graduation Ceremony and Ball on Friday 2nd July. This event runs from 1:30 pm onwards with two graduation ceremonies and breaks for tea, followed by a champagne reception in houses and dinner and ball in the marquee. For those parents who will only be able to attend the Graduation Ceremony in Chapel (i.e. between3:00pm to 6:15pm), the occasion will be free of charge, and there is no need to apply for tickets. For those pupils and parents attending the whole event, the charge will be �80 per person for the dinner and ball to include half a bottle of wine per person. Please note, leavers will only be able to apply for dinner and ball tickets if their parents are attending or with a nominated guardian from the pupil�s house. Details and booking forms should be with you but a copy of some information can be found here. If you have any queries please contact Tarla Woolhouse, Event Organiser on 01344 444085.

The ground-breaking Festival of Education will bring together over 70 speakers discussing and debating cutting edge topics including school choice, higher education, curriculum transformation, well being, dyslexia and new visions for education for the benefit of parents, grandparents, teachers and students. Tickets are on sale now from the Festival website at �27.50 for a One Day Festival Pass.  

One of the topics that will be explored during the Festival will be the issue of graduate recruitment and whether schools are doing enough to prepare young people for the job market. Business leaders and recruitment consultants will air their views and discuss how schools and universities need to change in order to enable graduates to have the skills needed in the workplace. If any parent would like their business to exhibit or advertise at the Festival, please contact Gretchen Cerveny at EducationFestival@wellingtoncollege.org.uk.  

Letters Home

To try to 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 try to use 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.. 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 here.

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.
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