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Opportunities for pupil enrichment have again been tremendously wide-ranging this year, with plenty of different activities available outside the classroom to develop existing interests or to explore new ones. As ever, the showpiece “College Carnival” in September gave pupils the change to find out more about what was on and to sign up to their chosen clubs and societies. Music and street food provided the backdrop to hundreds of excited conversations about what was to come in the year, with the ever-popular Music, Drama and Dance stands standing side by side with the likes of Pride Society or Lawsoc. If ever there is an event to show there is a place for everyone at Wellington, this is it. It was a great way to make everyone feel welcomed into the College, and to transition from the opening days of term into the normal routine of the week.
Enrichment at Wellington has never been simply a tick-box exercise, or a list of things you might do to fill the time. Our fundamental ethos is to encourage pupils to try something new, to do something that is beyond their experience or comfort zone. We hold that to be an important life skill. It has long been true that Wellingtonians will face many new opportunities and challenges in their futures, some of which we might already foresee, but some will be currently unimaginable. Whether in their personal or private lives, today’s pupils will eventually tackle tasks for the first time, and probably without the safety blanket of friends doing so with them. Perhaps they will face challenges that are so new in their nature that parents, teachers or even managers will not have seen them before either. They will need the courage to face these novelties, and the confidence that they will have the resourcefulness to do so successfully. When pupils find themselves asking, “how do I know if I can do this,” we aim to have given them an answer. “Because when I was at Wellington, I opted for mountain biking as an Enrichment option. I did it without my friends, and I had never done it before. It was scary. But I did it, and I loved it. There’s no reason I can’t do this too.”
Yet Enrichment offers not only productive betterment. The range of activities provide opportunities for pupils for a change of pace, a moment of downtime, or distraction from classroom learning or other pressures. That moment away can be crucial for our well-being, as well as being a chance perhaps to subconsciously consider the quandary posed in that essay, or to step away from the maths problem and to look again with fresh eyes. For some, it may come from attending a thought-provoking talk by the History Society, or considering Christian questions at Open Door. For others, it may come from joining the Running Club before breakfast on a tour of the fabulous grounds, or an ascent of the climbing wall with the Climbing Club after lessons. Or it may be something with far less adrenaline, such as origami or discussing what’s in the news on a Wednesday afternoon.
One such activity on a Wednesday afternoon is the third form Rocketry option. Pupils this year built and tested two stage solid fuel Rockets, with the aim of launching a Rocket with vertical flight, with the second stage of the fuel ejecting a parachute. There were some great attempts, but one group stood out with a true flight, high altitude and then a successful parachute deployment to land gracefully back to Earth. The students enhance their problem-solving skills as they overcome technical challenges with building their rockets, which they are doing relatively independently. Additionally they develop interpersonal skills and communication through collaboration and decision making as a team. The activity combines elements of a group social activity with a technical challenge.
Enrichment weaves quietly through everything we do at Wellington, providing extension of knowledge, free-time variety, and emotional outlet or re-charging; the academic, the co-curricular and the pastoral. It encourages curiosity, and enables pupils to develop the courage, confidence and commitment to pursue it. Thus we will continue to offer a wide range of activities to Wellingtonians, be that during timetabled Wednesday afternoons or in the evenings after lessons, and whether they be they cerebral or more recreational. We will also continue to encourage our pupils to put forward any ideas for new societies. Plans for College Carnival and next academic year are already in progress, with Pride, Filmsoc and Leather Working already putting together ideas for the year to come. Winston Churchill is credited with saying, “To be really happy and safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real.” I hope he would have been impressed by our approach to Enrichment at Wellington.
Simon Kirkham – Head of Enrichment
